David Diga Hernandez - How to Truly Worship

The scripture says in John 4:24, «For God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.» I remember one time I was attending a church service that felt rather lifeless, and I don’t mean to be rude, but that was just the reality. So, I’m standing in this worship service, and there is a woman leading worship. You can see that she is becoming increasingly frustrated with the congregation. Nobody was clapping, nobody had their hands lifted; people were standing there with their hands in their pockets, just kind of staring blankly at the worship team as they played. This woman grows more and more frustrated with each passing moment, and finally, she begins to yell at the people, asking, «How can you just stand there when the presence of God is here? How can you just stand there and not worship? Who do we think we are?» I remember sensing the flesh behind her words; I knew it wasn’t of the spirit, and the atmosphere truly felt dead. I was standing there in the church service, trying to engage, but now she’s yelling at me, and I thought, «Well, I can’t really participate now.» I just felt that whatever spirit was in the room evaporated the moment she began to scream at everyone. Then she starts saying, «This is exactly what it’s going to be like in heaven, so you better get used to it.» I thought to myself, «I sure hope this is not what it’s like in heaven.»

Why is it that there are times when we feel compelled to force people to worship? More importantly, why does it feel like there are seasons in our lives when we have to force ourselves to worship? Why do we feel as if the song has been taken from us, as if that overflow of our love for God, that beautiful river that flows from deep within, begins to wane? I know we all go through those seasons. The truth is, the scripture says that those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now, let’s think about these two components. There’s the spirit—who’s the spirit? We know this; it’s the Holy Spirit. But, of course, here it’s talking about our spirit, the inner man. Remember the scripture tells us that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. So, the key to worshiping from our spirit is to worship with the Holy Spirit.

Then there is truth. What truth is He speaking of? Well, the Holy Spirit helps us to worship by giving us a revelation of Jesus. Romans 5:5 says, «And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.» Now, the Holy Spirit is the one who cultivates a love for God deep within you. It’s true that it requires your participation. It’s true that worship requires that you actually open your mouth and express your love for God. But without the help of the Holy Spirit, worship songs are just songs; words of worship are just words; prayers are nothing more than incantations without the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.

You see, in that church service I attended, that woman was trying to force the people to do something they couldn’t do. Even if by yelling at them she was able to get them to lift their hands or sing, they wouldn’t be worshiping; they would simply be singing. They wouldn’t be praising God; they would just be lifting their hands. It would be an outward expression with no inner revelation, and all true worship begins as a revelation. If you want a revelation, you have to go to the Word, and usually, God reveals something of Himself in seasons that we don’t like—seasons that bring us discomfort.

True worship, my friend, is not a band playing with the best sound system or the best lighting, with the best graphics in the background and the biggest crowns. True worship—the worship that God honors most—is that one voice in the wilderness crying out, that one person on a boat being rocked back and forth by the waves. That’s where true worship is found. The Holy Spirit is the one who inspires this; the Holy Spirit causes us to burst with love for God. Nobody loves Jesus like the Holy Spirit loves Jesus, and if you will surrender to Him, He will teach you to love Jesus as He loves Jesus. When it’s of the spirit, it overflows; no one has to coach it out of you when it’s true worship.

Now, I understand that it’s often important for people to reverence the presence of God. So often, during a worship service, if people aren’t participating in reverencing God—say, for example, if someone is sitting with their arms folded—I might say, «Hey, stand up; you’re in the presence of God!» They don’t have to worship if they don’t want to, but they’re certainly not going to sit down and pout. They don’t have to worship if they don’t want to, but they shouldn’t sit there crossing their arms and intimidating those who do want to worship. So, I will take charge in that manner, but I cannot force them to worship. I can enforce a posture of reverent attention to God, but I can’t force them to truly worship. But when it’s the Holy Spirit, as I said, it overflows…