Worship: Posture of the Heart

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” -Psalm 34:3

I grew up in a Seventh Day Adventist church. I don't know how many of you are familiar with Adventism, but in my church, Worship is a foreign idea usually comprising of singing hymns corporately. That being said, you might understand my cluelessness when I listened to a worship album done by worship leaders who were a little more extreme. The final track was just open worship and intercession, I'm hearing things like "We need catchers out there, if you see falling bodies, you're a catcher!" What are catchers and why are people falling over?? Is this even Christian?!

I was equally surprised when, while at one church particularly I saw people, even members of my own family, laying out of the floor, kneeling scrunched over, crying? And then I decided to try it. And I felt what they were feeling, and I lay out on the floor and cried too, and the crazy thing was, I didn't even know why.

Later I saw during worship service, spasmatic people. There was this one fellow that would stand and hold on to the pew in front of him and he would get shaking and the whole pew would rock. About this time I started hearing people speaking in tongues, something which may as well be taboo in my church. The coolest thing was seeing my oldest sister get so aligned with the presence of God, she'd speak in tongues and pray for us. I can't speak for anyone else but I believe she was an influence to all us siblings.

Now if that stuff wasn't scary enough, further down the road I began to see people literally collapsing during worship. So that's what 'catchers' are for. More spasmatic people; shaking, falling over, tongues, lots of tongues. Dancing.

I always felt somewhat distanced in worship, I never could get past all this stuff to really understand what was going on, why were all these people going so crazy? It scared me a bit. None of this was anything like the place I grew up in.

This was just the begining of my journey to discover true worship, and today I am thankful that due to my family I was able to begin as young as I did. But what is true worship? Is it all this flesh stuff.. tongues, dancing, shaking.. do I have to fall on the ground to worship God? No. These are merely things which come of catching a glimpse of God and aligning yourself with the Presence of God. So what really is worship then?

A well-known (not well enough that I remember her name) worship leader said once something to the effect that worship is the created catching a glimpse of the Creator. I believe this is true; if we could not see the awesomeness of the god we worship, how then could we worship his awesomeness? Worship is a result of that little glimpse of God.

All the hype that I saw in worship services outside of my church--the tongues, dancing, shaking, etc.--really held me back, I didn't want to look like that. What I was missing was that these things were all results of worship, not part of the worship itself. You see, worship is not about the music or the band or the dancing and singing, those all add to it, but worship in its simplest form is a posture of the heart, and that's what I was missing.

I recall two of the most beautiful, most intimate times of worship I have experienced. The first is the first time I can remember worshipping, in that little church downtown when I lay down on the floor before God and cried. I didn't know half what I was doing, but it didn't matter, I was posturing my heart. Another moment was fall of '08. I was at a conference and Jason Upton was leading worship. I was just sitting in the back row praying, posturing my heart, and I caught a glimpse of God. Let me tell ya, I didn't get up and jump around, speak in tongues, or anything like that. I cried. I couldn't do anything else.

Worship is the way I posture my heart before God. That means that every day of my life is potentially worship. Worship is being in that secret place with God just to tell him how great he is, how worthy he is, how incredible he is. It's not about the music, it's not about the song, those things just set the mood. It's not about the jumping around or the speaking in tongues or the shaking, the falling on the floor.. those things are just a result of seeing God. Worship is about asking God to open the eyes of your heart to truly see him. Worship is about living day to day in awe of God's majesty. Worship is why the Cherubim and Sephirum are sitting at the foot of the throne singing 'Holy, Holy, Holy' they can't even stop. When I think of worship I think of the song by Matt Redman, 'Heart of Worship'

Verse 1
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring, something that's of worth, that will bless your name

Pre Chorus
I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself, is not what you have required
You search much deeper within, through the way things appear, you're looking into my heart..

Chorus
I'm coming back the the heart of worship, and it's all about You, all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it, cause it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus

Verse 2
King of endless worth, no one could express, how much you desserve
Though I'm weak and poor, all I have is yours, every single breath

Will you live a life of worship? It's all about Him.