It is evident there is a renewed interest in worship. At many conferences and assemblies you will hear a series of messages on the subject, usually at the specific request of elders or others. This renewed interest is nothing but a positive, spiritually healthy sign.
The Breaking of Bread is the primary public expression of the church’s worship. It is at that meeting believers exercise their royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). I cannot think of a greater privilege for the believer than to sit with other believers engaging in the worship of the Lord.
But while most acknowledge the importance of worship, there remains a question, “How can I be a worshipper? What can I do to come prepared to worship (whether audibly or inaudibly) when the assembly meets for the breaking of bread?” While learning to be a worshipper cannot be reduced to mechanical steps, here are a few practical things I can do to help me be a worshipper.
1. Learn to identify, in specific terms, things the Bible says about the Lord. The best book on worship is the Bible. When we come to worship, God is not asking us to be poetically creative in designing expressions of thought. He has already given us worship material in the Bible. As you read, take time to notice statements that magnify the Lord Himself. Notice the many pictures of the Lord which God gave to Israel, for example.
For some help on thinking this way, let me recommend (with admitted bias) Worship and Remembrance–52 Meditations on the Sinner’s Friend, by Daniel Smith, available from Gospel Folio Press. Every home interested in worship should own this book. (Note to assembly elders: consider purchasing one for every family in your assembly.)
2. Learn to distinguish between the blessings we receive and the character of the One who blesses us. When we first get saved, we cannot help but be overwhelmed with the many benefits that come to us. Forgiveness of sins, fellowship of the believers, the care and comfort of God–on and on it goes. But as we think about our blessings, it should lead us to think about the kind of God who should bless us in this way. What kind of God loves sinners enough to send His own Son to die for them? Why should the Lord suffer and die in this way? In other words, I do not think in terms of “me” and “my,” but Him. Stay focused on Him, and you will be a worshipper.
3. Be familiar with hymns of worship. Not every hymn in the hymnbook is a hymn of worship. They are not intended to be. Some hymns encourage us in prayer, Christian service, or a closer walk with the Lord. Others are gospel hymns and personal testimony. Identify the worship hymns when it comes to the Breaking of Bread. Hymns that speak of Christ and His death, resurrection, ascension, and glory are good to know. Look through, in fact sing through, the hymnbook during the week.
4. Listen to experienced worshippers around you. None of us is a perfect worshipper. And we do not want to simply imitate one another. Nevertheless, we can learn from godly men around us who have learned something about worship. Listen to their way of thinking about the Lord. Notice the way they handle the Scriptures. Note the harmony of their worship. Listen and learn.
5. Remember that inaudible worship is worship, too. All believers, men and women, are called to be worshippers. The sisters are vital in our worship. It is not just what is heard by us that is important, but what is heard by God. The spiritual atmosphere of a Remembrance meeting is often charged with the godly worship of the inaudible worshippers. The women’s worship, inaudible to us, is essential.
6. Be a worshipper seven days a week. While the Breaking of Bread is the most obvious public expression of the church’s worship, it does not mean we cannot be worshippers every day of the week. There is at least one thing wonderful about God we could notice each day. As we accumulate these thoughts, our worship on the Lord’s Day will be full.
Let’s encourage worship in the young, the old, the middle-aged. There are no perfect worshippers. And we don’t need worship critics. But we can determine to learn to be the kind of worshippers God is looking for, for “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (Jn. 4:23).