What Is Praise and Worship?

By Kris Nilsen

This article is intended to present a brief description of ‘praise’ and ‘worship’. There are several books, tapes, and teachings on the subject and I recommend you study the material in depth on your own. It is my intent to quickly review the fundamentals of praise and worship and then to highlight a couple of areas I believe are very important. Praise and worship are different but not unrelated. Many thousands of words have gone into expressing the differences so we will look at some of the verses of scripture.

The definition of ‘praise’: to commend, applaud, express approval or admiration of, extol in words or song, magnify, glorify (to honor, celebrate). In Hebrew, the word used most often for praise is "halal" (pronounced "haw-lal"). It forms the basis of "Hallelujah," which simply means, "Praise God." It means "to make a show, to boast, celebrate, commend, glory, and praise." "Halal" is the word in Psalm 150: "Praise the Lord. Praise God for acts of power; praise God for surpassing greatness. Praise God with the sounding of the trumpet, praise God with the harp and lyre, praise God with the tambourine and dancing, praise God with the strings and flute, praise God with the clash of cymbals, praise God with the resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise God." Praise is a way of acknowledging who God is and what God does. Praise and thanksgiving flow out of our awareness of God at work in us and around us. In Psalm 100:4 we are shown that there are two stages to be followed in approaching God. We are to (1) "enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and (2) God’s courts with praise; give thanks to God and praise God’s Name". This is our "protocol" for entering into God’s presence. With thanksgiving we pass through the gates and with praise we pass through the courts and we draw near to God. Outward expressions of praise may consist of singing, shouting, clapping hands, lifting of hands, dancing, and standing. Scripture gives us some examples: David dancing before the ark, Miriam playing the tambourine and the army of Israel lifting up a shout at Jericho, to list a few. As well, the Bible doesn’t tell us only to praise when we feel like it. God doesn’t intend our praise to be based upon how we’re feeling, at the same time God doesn’t mind when we put a little emotion into our praise.

Praise accomplishes things on at least three levels: horizontal, vertical, and inward.

Horizontally – Praise serves to bind and unify us as a congregation. Additionally, many of the songs we sing at the start of the Saturday night service are sung as much to one another, as to ourselves, or God; we unite ourselves in thought and purpose. Vertically – In this area, praise serves to make it easier for us to express to God our appreciation. Praise is the vehicle into God’s presence. Inwardly – Praise and thanksgiving work in us and help us to focus our attention on God.

The definition of ‘worship’: to respect, honor, and adore; treating with reverence. There are 2 main Hebrew words: (a) Shachah – which means to bow down, prostrate; and (b) Abodah – which means to serve. There are 2 main Greek words: (a) Proskuneo – which means to kiss (the hand) toward, as an act of adoration; and (b) Leitourgia – which means to serve. Worship is a way of humbling ourselves before God. Worship involves our whole being - our attitude and actions. Worship is our natural response reaction of who God is. Worship is an attitude of the heart more than it is an outward expression.

(Luke 19:36-40; Philippians 2:9-11) We worship God for who He is (Isaiah 12:5; Psalm 18:3). We can worship God by ourselves or corporately with other believers. The only requirement is that our worship must be from our hearts. It isn't a matter of saying the right words or going through the right motions - we must be totally sincere. Worship is offered, as we are told, "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).

In conclusion, let’s summarize by stating these general definitions:

"Praise" and "Thanksgiving" often go hand in hand thanking God for what God has done and tuning into the presence of God (Psalm 28:6; 95:1-5)

"Worship" is responding to the presence of who God is (Psalm 29:2; 95:6, 7)

Praise and worship are more than just the preliminary part of the service or just some singing to settle us down. The time we spend in praise and worship of God prepares us to receive God’s word, both the word as taught to us and the word spoken to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.