Seven Form Of Worship

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalm 95:6

The Bible gives us the different forms or outward expressions in worship. These forms make tangible the worship of the heart. It is very necessary for the heart to be expressed, and when it is, that heart expression becomes very powerful. For example, when you lift your hands, you are really saying “my heart is being lifted to God” (Lam. 3:41). Don’t excuse yourself by thinking that “only Charismatics lift their hands,” or “only Anglicans kneel down.” None of the biblical worship forms “belong” to any denomination. They are either biblical or they are not.

These forms are an external physical expression of the internal spiritual worship that is taking place inside you. So there must be a reason and purpose in all the expressions of worship. For example, if the heart is repenting and you weep and cry out to God, there is meaning in the tears. Otherwise, the tears are just a show (or a dead form). If you are leaping and dancing but your heart is not really rejoicing, then you are just “putting on a display.” Unless the form represents what is going on in your heart, it produces nothing.

Similarly, if God is speaking to you to repent, don’t clap your hands and put on a “spiritual smile,” pretending that God doesn’t really mean that. You must always seek to make your worship expressions a true statement of what God is saying and doing. When the forms are used to truly depict what is happening in your heart, there will come a depth, an authority and a reality in the worship. Study these forms and become skilled in using them at the right moment. When your spirit, soul and body flow and connect with the Spirit in worship, God will manifest Himself powerfully.

1. Singing (Ps. 95:1). This is one of the key forms in worship. Any mood of the heart, or of the Spirit, can be expressed in a song.
2. Shouting (95:1). A loud voice is used to proclaim extreme and dynamic feelings. It is also a sign of triumph; a release of joy.
3. Lifting of hands (Lam. 3:41; Heb. 12:12). This is the sign of a heart that is lifted to the Lord.
4. Clapping (Ps. 47:1). When we hail Jesus as King and exalt Him, we clap our hands as a sign of this.
5. Standing (1 Kin. 8:22). When we stand to worship God, it shows our respect and attentiveness toward Him.
6. Kneeling (Ps. 95:6; Acts 20:36). We kneel as an act of submission and reverence.
7. Bowing down (Ps. 95:6; Rom. 14:11). The Hebrew word for “worship” is shachah (used 166 times) which means to bow. The Greek word for “worship” is proskuneo which means to prostrate and kiss the feet of the Lord.