The Purpose of Worship

“Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3

What is the end goal of worshiping God? What is the true purpose of our worship? Is it just to check off an item on our Christian to-do list? Is it to keep from feeling guilty? Is it done out of habit or ritual? It is none of these. The purpose of our worship is to know God more deeply. Whether we have been worshiping Him for one year or one hundred years, the purpose is the same. We worship God so that we can know Him more.

The Hebrew word for “know” does not mean to merely know Him intellectually. It means to know Him by experience. Since this is true, the only way to truly worship God is to know God. Therefore the more we know Him, the more we will want to worship Him. And the more we worship Him, the more deeply we will know Him. This cycle will continue throughout eternity. Isn’t it amazing to think that there will never come a time when we will know everything there is to know about God? We get to spend all of eternity worshiping Him and therefore knowing Him more, and more, and more.

In Psalm 100:3, the psalmist makes what may seem at first glance like a redundant statement: “Know that the LORD is God.” But this is important because, in order to worship God correctly, you have to worship the right God. There is only one LORD that is God. Worship is not a buffet line where you get to choose which version of God you want to worship. You don’t get to pick the characteristics that you like, are comfortable with, or agree with about Him and leave out the rest. We must worship God as He is based on His Word.

Do you know the God of the Bible? Do you know that this LORD is God? You are far better off worshiping the right God, even if you think you do it poorly than you are worshiping the wrong god magnificently. The closer we get to God, the more we will experience Him. The more we experience Him, the better we will know Him and the more we will trust Him. The better we know Him, the more we will love Him. The more we love Him, the quicker we will obey Him. And when we are consistently loving, trusting, and obeying God, we will begin to experience the fulfillment, joy, and purpose that only can only come as a result of following Him.

Dear God, I want to experience You more fully each and every day of my life. As I worship You, help me to trust, obey, and experience You more and more. Show me any areas of sin in my life that are keeping me from fully experiencing You. In Your name I pray, amen.