Each week people of faith enter churches and houses of God to worship and learn more about Him through the scriptures and messages presented by their pastors or spiritual teachers. During most services, believers will sing songs, clap their hands, and praise God as a form of worshipping and exalting Him. These services allows believers to come together in fellowship and worship God corporately. But is this all there is to worshipping God? Is worshipping God limited to a church service or singing, clapping, or dancing before the Lord?
Jesus said in John 4:24, that God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, for these are the types of worshipers that God seeks.
But what does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? Worshipping God in truth means that we follow God according to what is Biblically and spiritually sound or correct instead of tradition. Religious traditions are long-established or inherited customs and rules we learn in church that have very little to do with developing a close relationship with God. Traditions are usually based on specific do's and don'ts that supposedly make us look holy on the outside but do nothing to change the condition of our heart or renew the mind. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, God doesn't look at our outer appearance. He looks at who we are. He looks at our motivation. He looks at our heart.
In Mark 7: 1-10, Jesus scolded the religious leaders for their traditions when they questioned Jesus about his disciplines washing their hands on the Sabbath day. "So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!"
Secondly, God wants us to worship him in spirit. I think we sometimes forget that God is a spiritual-being. He's not of flesh and bone like men. He is omnipresence meaning God is everywhere at the same time. Unfortunately, all too often we're taught we serve and love God by performing a lot of religious activities. I remember over and over hearing that the more involved I was in church, the more faithful or serious I was about my Christian walk. But it was Jesus who mildly scolded Martha for insisting that Mary help her with all the dinner preparations.
Jesus expressed, Martha, I want you to know that Mary has chosen that which was best, to sit and abide with me. (Luke 10:41 paraphrased) Worshipping God in spirit means to abide with God in unity and oneness. It means spending time with God, just as Jesus did on a daily basis. It was Jesus' desire that we become one with God, just as "I and my Father are one," said Christ. Becoming one with God means communing with Him and as we do, our spirits intertwine and we become one spirit, letting God's light shine through us.
Worshipping God in spirit and truth means eliminating those beliefs, traditions, customs, rules and any other spiritual barriers that may be interfering with you knowing God on an intimate level or knowing God in spirit and truth.