True Worship

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”
-Matthew 15:8-9

As I memorized those verses, they made me think of a song called "Heart of Worship"...

I'll bring you more than a song
for a song in itself is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart...

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
where it's all about You, all about You Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
when it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus

Another song that came to my mind is "Clear the Stage" by Jimmy Needham. Part of it goes like this:

"Take a break from all the plans that you have made, and
sit home alone and wait for God to whisper
Beg him please to open his mouth and speak and pray for
real upon your knees until they blister...
Shine the light on every corner of your life until the
pride, and lust, and lies are in the open
Then read the word and put to test the things you’ve
heard until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked
and broken
Cause you can sing all you want to
Oh you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to, and still get it wrong
Oh worship is more than a song"

It's true. Worship is so much more than a song. God isn't after a talented voice or a perfect song. He wants our hearts to be in it. And we can worship Him in so many ways that go beyond singing. We can worship God by giving Him our best effort and praising Him at all times in Bible quizzing. Even obedience in little things can be an act of worship. In Romans it says that surrendering our lives as living sacrifices to God is our act of worship.

Mainly what I got out of these two verses is that God cares more about the heart than the song- He said, "their hearts are far from Me... they worship Me in vain."

God knows our hearts. Let's worship Him with everything we do, because He is worthy!