God has been speaking to me a lot lately about how I praise and worship Him both on my own and within a congregation. I've learnt that the lyrics of the songs we sing are important if we want to really connect with God. When we 'praise' God we need to be singing songs that speak highly of Him and when we worship Him, the songs should make us feel like fully surrendering ourselves to God, in a 'bowing before Him' in our spirits, kind of way. There are many verses in the Bible that command us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. God gave us unique instruments in our two hands to clap with and it should come natural that when we are praising and worshiping God spiritually and not just in the natural, going through the motions, that we would feel compelled to want to raise our hands.
Unfortunately Satan has seen to it that we feel ashamed, embarrassed and self-conscious about what how we sing in church, constantly worrying about what everyone else will think of us.
I know that when God brings a sermon across my path more than once, that deals with the same topic, I must take note of it and respond. So I will.. although we sing collectively in church, I will be making a concerted effort to praise and worship God in and with my spirit, regardless of what others may think of me...
