Worship

I took this from Karyn Bakers blog because it really spoke to me. It is very encouraging and powerful. Many things I never though worship was
When You Experience True WorshipWorship is when you walk away and all you can think about is Him and your relationship with Him. You are not thinking about the band or the music or whether or not they did your favorite song. You are simply lost in your thoughts of Him; you are remembering what the Holy Spirit told you and taught you; you are relishing in the satisfaction of your soul because your needs have been heard and met. You have been given love and have received love; moreover, your affection has not been rejected and you are at peace. You are stirred to continue to be obedient to all He has commanded, not out of duty or obligation but because you are in love with your Creator Who loves you like no one can.
True worship results in change of your heart, of your actions, of your mind. Otherwise, we have simply sung a bunch of songs over and over like choir practice. So, either I am a singer and I go away a bit hoarse or I am a worshiper and go away different.Longing for Genuine WorshipIt is a place where I can taste God's original intention for my life to "walk in the garden in the cool of the day" with Him (Genesis 3:8), to commune with Him. In these moments He points out the lies of the world that I am believing more than His timeless promises. In these moments He is King and I am servant; His name is supreme and my name is hidden in His; He is Father and I am child. Music is not the avenue to this; the songs themselves are nothing more than servants, given by God, to remind us that it's all about Him and for Him. Genuine worship is not lifting my hands and wondering if someone is watching. It is not holding hands and swaying with my best friends. It is not even the sound of our voices.
Worship is all about the posture of the heart.Public and Private Worship TimesWhen I first began traveling and leading worship, a mentor/friend asked me a question that has stayed with me for the last eight years. He asked, "Jami, how is your private worship?"I remember thinking, "Oops, wait a minute, what does he mean, exactly?" He graciously continued, noting my uneasiness and said, "You will never take a congregation publicly where you have not gone privately."What a great, humbling teaching moment for me. Corporate worship is intended to be a time for the Body to come together and encourage one another. The early church understood this union as a must to pray for one another to remain strong against false teachings and persecution. Our public worship meetings as a Body of Christ should be an overflow of our private encounters with God. Can you imagine how great our Sunday worship times would be if we were worshipping privately all week long? We would explode when we came together. Instead, sadly, often times we are begging people to sing along. Authentic public worship is an overflow of our private time with God. How can we sing about His love replacing loneliness or His truth replacing lies if we have never experienced it personally and privately? How can we expect to worship corporately if we do not treasure Him and His words privately?
written by worshipper Jami Smith