Turning Our Hearts to Worship

Written by Nicholas Kersten

December 20, 2021

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God.  — Psalm 95:6-7a

Worship. The Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition is “to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power.” Or “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.  We might say it’s what we do on Sabbath morning as we gather with others. These are all true, but only scratch the surface.

The Psalmist reminds us that the Lord made us. He is our God. If we continue in verse 7 we are reminded that we are the people of His pasture and the flock under His care. We should bow down in worship, kneeling before the Lord. I can hear some of you saying, “kneel? If I get down on my knees I would never get back up!” Maybe physically kneeling or bowing low is out, but we can still bow.

I would suggest the Psalmist is encouraging not only a physical posture, but an attitude of our hearts. Think about the posture of kneeling or bowing low. These are positions of submission and vulnerability. When we kneel or bow down physically it is difficult to focus on what is around us. Our attention is drawn down and inward, quieting us and helping us give our full attention to the Lord.

This is what worship should be about. Whether we are in a group, with our family, or alone before the Lord, when we come to worship we should be focused on the Lord alone. We should submit our minds, hearts and time to Him. Perhaps you don’t struggle with this like I do….but just in case, I have a couple of suggestions.

  • When praying or worshiping at home or in a small group, we can place our heads down on a table, or into our hands/laps to imitate bowing and help shut out what might be around us.
  • At the start of our worship we can turn our attention to the Lord with a prayer of submission, asking the Holy Spirit to be present with us and help us to focus on the Lord.
  • Before beginning our prayers or Scripture reading, we can concentrate for a few minutes on the greatness of God, bringing our attention to Him.

I know personally, I don’t spend enough time in worship, kneeling my heart and mind before the Lord. This month as I memorize this Scripture I’m going to work on that, focusing on bowing in worship. Will you join me?


(This meditation was written by Paula Davis, as a reflection on one of the winter verses in our Scripture Memory Program (which you can find out more about here.))

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