Importance of Worship in our lives

The Greek word for “worship” in the New Testament is proskuneo (which actually means “to kiss”). It’s the same word used for a dog licking his master’s feet. Worship means to prostrate oneself in homage, to bow down the self and to exalt God. It’s the submission of our entire being to God. Worship is the union of our spirits with God’s Spirit in the Holy Place of our hearts. (Romans 8:26)
Worship means to ascribe “worth” to a being or object. In other words, whatever we value or place the highest worth on, is what we worship. Interestingly enough, the attributes of the “worldly” gods we worship seem to eventually manifest their characteristics in us. Rather than Christ’s image being carved into the walls of our soul, these ungodly characteristics become inscribed there. Psalm 135:18 tells us that we become like what we worship.

A great example of this is the country of Egypt. Egypt used to worship the scarab beetle, which is actually a dung beetle found in manure piles. If you visit Egypt today, you’ll notice that the Nile river bed is covered with dung and fecal material, as the cattle, animals and even children relieve themselves there. The countryside is filthy. Trash is everywhere. Egypt is also a country that is preoccupied with death (mummies, etc.). The whole country has become like what it has worshiped—the dung beetle. It’s a culture of death and decay and refuse.
We do become like what we worship! Our values, our priorities and how we live our lives revolve around what we commit our-selves to. The bottom line is that the object of our worship be-comes the guiding force in our lives.

If we want to become more Christ-like and begin to glorify Him more, we must learn to worship Him more. The changes in our inner being only occur when we are in the presence of the Lord. The Lord says in Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.” And He promises to, “Show [us] the path of life: [for only] in Thy presence is fulness of joy; [and] at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

This last verse is saying that only in His presence can He fill us with unspeakable joy and the strength to withstand any circumstance. (Nehemiah 8:10d) And as a result, we’ll be able to share His glory to an even greater degree.

Worship, then, is important because it releases blessings in two directions: we come into the Lord’s presence by loving and adoring Him; He, then, makes Himself known by communicating His Love back to us through revelation and insight and joy. Worship, in other words, is a two-way communication. We worship the Lord; He then meets with us and changes us.

Worship is a two-way connection that occurs at the altar of our hearts. It consists of not only receiving God’s Love (and being changed), but also of loving Him. Communion and worship are all about mutual affection—both giving and receiving. He ex-tends His Love to us and we reciprocate by loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul. Worship strips away “self” and allows God to continue to conform us more into His image.