Intimacy with God: Be Intentional Part 4

Our working definition of intimacy is a warm, personal, private friendship developed through a long association.  

The question we are working to answer in this blog series is this: What does intimacy with God look like?  

As I state each week, while this is not an exhaustive list, I believe intimacy comes through our times in prayer, worship, reading the Word, meditating on God, and soaking in the Lord’s presence.  

Last week we began to unpack the topic of worship and we looked at Who we worship. Today we will dive into what worship is, and how and why we worship.  

Just a reminder: Websters online dictionary defines worship as: 1. to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power. 2. to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.i 

First, what is worship? Worship is our humble posturing before a Holy God! Bringing our entire being into submission to His heart and will. Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline says, “Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.” 

In the Old Testament, worship involved the sacrifice of animals. Hebrews 10:1-2, The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. (NLT) 

Praise God, under the New Covenant, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice through his death on the cross. His shed blood provided the perfect cleansing so that we no longer have to offer the blood of bulls and sheep to purify us and cleanse us from the guilt of sin.  

Today, rather than animal sacrifices, we are called to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. (AMPC) 

Next, how do we worship? It is a Biblical mandate that we worship God and Him alone. It is an act that is designed not only to bring honor to Him who deserves honor, but also to bring a spirit of obedience and submission to the worshippers.ii 

When we worship, we humbly posture ourselves in submission to God. This posturing can be both external and internal. Following are a few Biblical examples of external humble submission.  

The Hebrew word for worship means prostrating oneself. In Exodus 34:8, we read, “Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.” (NLT) Job 1:20, Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. (NLT) 

The Hebrew word for thanksgiving means an extension of the hand. Nehimiah 8:6, Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. (NLT) 

The Hebrew word for bless means to kneel. In Psalm 95:6 we are admonished to kneel before the Lord. “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,” (NLT) Matthew 2:11, They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (NLT) 

The true worship of God is essentially internal, a matter of the heart and spirit rooted in the knowledge of and obedience to the revealed Word of God. Worship stems from recognizing God for who He Is!! Matthew 14:33, Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. (NLT) 

All of life is worship. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (NLT) Everything we do should be flowing from a heart of worship. True worshippers put God in first place in their lives. Oswald Chambers said, “Worship is giving God the best that He has given you.”  It is “Living throughout the week, as an heir of the kingdom, listening for his voice, obeying his word.” iii 

Finally, why do we worship? We worship to declare God is in our midst, to bring ourselves into obedience and submission to God, as a weapon against the enemy, and because HE IS WORTHY!!! 

First, we worship to declare that God is in our midst. Zephaniah 3:17, The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (NKJV) 

In the latter half of Luke chapter 7 we read the beautiful account of Mary’s washing the feet of Jesus and anointing them with perfume. In so doing, Mary was announcing that God was in their midst. She sacrificed her most valuable possession to anoint the feet of Jesus as an act of worship.  

Secondly, we worship to bring ourselves into submission to God. Psalm 96:9, O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; tremble before and reverently fear Him, all the earth. (AMPC) 

In Genesis 22 we are given the account of God calling Abraham to offer up Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice on the altar to God. God had promised Abraham that through Isaac, He would greatly multiply Abraham’s seed.  Now in one act of obedient submission, Abraham could be giving up his hope for the future.  Hebrews 11:19, Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. (NLT) Abraham believed that if God promised He was faithful to keep His promise, however, I’m sure for Abraham that the trip to the mountain was wrought with much sorrow and anguish.  Yet, despite that, Abraham as an act of worship offered Isaac.  

Thirdly, we worship as a weapon against the enemy. In 2 Chronicles 20 we read the account of Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah. When faced by insurmountable odds, God told them to send the choir (worshippers) out front.  

2 Chronicles 20:12-24, After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: 

“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”  

At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. 

In Acts 16:24-26 we read about Paul and Silas’s worship, breaking the bonds of prison.  

“So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” 

As we worship God, we release Holy Spirit to break the power of the enemy over our life. 

Lastly, but most importantly, we worship God because HE IS WORTHY!!!

Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, 
for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (NIV) 

Jeremiah 10:11, Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For it is fitting to You and Your due! For among all the wise [men or gods] of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. (AMPC) 

Psalm 145: 3-5. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. (NLT) 

As we put God first in everything we do, as our act of worship, our intimacy with Him will grow. As we daily, intentionally, listen to and respond to our Father, our relationship will deepen, and we will become more like Christ.  

Works Cited:

i i https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worship 

ii https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-exactly-is-worship.html 

iii Foster, R. J. (2018). Celebration of discipline: The path to spiritual growth. HarperOne.