Worship: Bringing Down The Walls



This is the second part of a three-part series of articles on Worship. If you have not read the first part, which was featured in last month’s issue, I would like to offer the link to where it can be found here. Worship: More Than Just Singing??
I also want to thank you all for reading this, and I pray that God will minister to and richly bless each and every one of you! Please, e-mail me if you have any comments etc.



In the first article of this series on worship, I defined what worship is. I gave examples of how you can worship God through your every day life, and not just by singing at church. In this article, we are going to explore the power of worship. Without a doubt, worship has untold amount of power -- power that we can’t even fully grasp or comprehend.

What’s so powerful about worship, and why? Well, we can’t fully understand the concept because we are only human. But simply put, worship is obedience to God, and thus it has His power behind it. We worship God because we love Him and want to follow His commands. Because sincere worship is part of God’s plan for His creation, we know that His presence inhabits our offerings of praise. God is supreme and all-powerful. If He inhabits (dwells in, occupies, resides in) our worship and praise, He is literally there with us, visiting with His children. His power is there too, of course. So there’s the answer to our question.

In Old Testament times, the Israelites had a special group of “singers”. These were the people that led the whole nation in praising God with music. This group of people played a very important part in Biblical history. They often were sent ahead of the warriors in battle, along with the Ark of the Covenant. Now why do you think they would send singers and the sacred Ark of the Covenant (in Old Testament times, where God’s presence resided) ahead of the warriors when they were about to fight another country? At first glance without thought and consideration, the idea seems ridiculous, doesn’t it?! But let me point out to you the significance of this act of faith and obedience to God.

First of all, it was out of obedience to God and His plan and will that the singers and the Ark of the Covenant were on the front lines when the Israelites marched out to battle. He told them that this was the arrangement He wanted and expected, and they demonstrated faith by doing it, believing that God could and would take care of them. “God’s presence” went first in the line-up; this was to remind the Israelites that God should always be first. Then the singers came. This shows us how important God considers our praises. It also shows us that we should always begin by praising God -- in whatever we do. Start your day by praising God; start church services by praising God; start your prayers by praising God; and, most of all, begin battles with praise to God.

The other significance to the singers being sent out ahead of everyone else is that it shows that there really is power in worship. If there wasn’t, why would the singers go before the trained warriors? Without power, they would all be in a lot of serious trouble. Great things can be accomplished through worship; and it’s no wonder, being that the all-powerful God has no limits when we yield everything to Him by praising His name.

Worship fights the spiritual battle, just like prayer does; the two walk hand-in-hand. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). It seems to me that this arrangement is an example for us to follow today. Even more so than sending singers to praise God before, during, and after a physical battle, it is extremely important that we remember to praise God before, during, and after our spiritual battles. This is what God wants and expects from us just like the Israelites in Bible times. Can we have faith and obey God, trusting that He can and will take care of us if we follow His plan instead of our own plans? Even if it sounds ridiculous and we don’t understand it?

Now we come to the main point of this article. I recall that on the seventh day of marching around the city of Jericho, the Israelites all shouted as one voice at the same time, and the city walls came tumbling down. The Bible doesn’t specifically say what they shouted, but I’m certain that it was God’s power that brought those walls down that day. If you remember from my first article on worship, I said that worshipping God could be living for Him, obeying Him, etc., and not just singing. It’s really all about motives. If you’re doing it to please God and follow Him and grow closer to Him, then it’s a form of worship. So, I am confidant that whatever the Israelites shouted at that crucial moment, the walls fell because of God’s power and His will for them at that time.

In another more-spiritual sense, walls come down every day when God’s children worship and praise His name, when they draw close to His presence and follow His will. We don’t worship God for ourselves, so that we can be fulfilled and be victorious or anything else. We worship God because He is worthy and He commands us to, and because we love and adore Him. But, as a bonus, sincere worship and praise to God can change your life for the better. And the reason is this: when you worship God, you step into His holy presence, and you also step into His power. So that’s why there is such awesome power in worship. It’s the power of God’s presence, glory, and ordained will. And though we can’t fully comprehend this power, it’s okay. That’s all the more reason to stand back in awe and worship the Creator and Messiah, because we know that He truly is above all else.

--Written by: Hannah Kelmis



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