To know the difference between praising and adoring God, we must know both terms. As for worship, it has to do with obedience to our Lord, and praise is a way of worshiping. Praise is when God is praised, and worship is an attitude of the heart that goes beyond praise.
I invite you to read:
Worship does not refer only to singing, dancing or playing an instrument in the presence of God. It is offering our life to God, it is a lifestyle, it is life itself. When we live in worship it is because we are doing the will of God.
In this way, if we do not practice obedience, we are not being true worshipers of the Lord. It is not about religiosity, going to church every Sunday, attending discipleship. It is more than that, it is giving yourself completely to God in spirit and in truth.
In the Bible we can see a clear example of this, where Abraham uses the term “worship” for the first time when the Lord asks him to sacrifice his only son: “The boy and I will go ahead to worship God, and then we will return to you.” (Genesis 22:5)
Here it can be seen that Abraham showed his absolute faith in God and set out to obey his Father in spirit and in truth. Perhaps he was afraid, but he was still willing to do God’s will.
Difference between praising and worshiping God according to the bible
It is very difficult to differentiate between praise and adoration and in many cases we wonder if when the hands are raised they are worshiping or praising. Faced with this question, it could be said that both things can be done because the external manifestation in both cases is the same.
The terms “praise” and “worship” turn out to be very difficult to parse and cannot be separated even when they represent different entities. So prayer, thanksgiving, adoration and praise are closely related.
Praise comes from the Hebrew “halal” which means to celebrate, glorify, sing. It is an act of gratitude for all that our Lord has done in our lives. When we praise him we are giving him the place he deserves, glorifying and exalting him. These praises can be given through writings, prayers or songs.
For its part, the term worship comes from the word proskuneo, which means prostrating or kneeling before. It is an attitude that comes from the spirit, it is an intimate encounter with the Lord. Therefore through this, we can find God, feel his presence and rest in his lap.
In this way, to adore means to prostrate yourself before God and at that moment you are telling him that we are nothing without his presence in our lives. We are telling him out loud and with our hearts that he is Almighty, that he is the Great I Am and that he is the owner of our life completely. So worship and praise, although they are closely related, are differentiated as follows:
1.- The Lord does not need praise, but true worshipers
One of the aspects that we must consider is the fact that God does not need praise, but the believer does need praise, since it is a mandate from God. But these do not affect him, but have the power to transform, build and comfort.
God gets a lot of praise from his children. But he seeks worshipers, who go beyond praise. As he demands in his word: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; because the Father also seeks such worshipers to worship him “ (John 4:23)
God looks for adorers because he needs them, he looks for the true ones, those who have adopted the life and mind of the adorer, who obeys the will of the Lord, who gives himself in spirit and in truth and who has arranged his life for it.
2.- Praise is distant, worship is intimate
In the word Jesus leaves us an example of what praise means: “When they were nearing the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples, rejoicing, began to praise God with a loud voice for all the wonders they had seen, saying: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Then some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, Master, rebuke your disciples. He, responding, said to them: I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out. (Luke 19:37-40)
Certainly the rocks cannot have any relationship with God because they have no soul and even more praise is impossible. But the message that he reveals to us is that anything can praise him, but not everyone can worship him in spirit and in truth. In this way that anyone, the mountains, the sun, the rivers, rocks, stars, moon, can praise him without having any relationship with him. As seen in his word: “Praise him, sun and moon; Praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, heaven of heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens. Praise the name of Jehovah; Because he commanded, and they were created.” (Psalms 148:3-5)
In worship there must be a relationship between the worshiper and God, and it has to do with giving and receiving. Where communion with our Father is manifested.
3.-Praise can be seen and heard, adoration is not always shown to the observer
Worship is usually invisible and silent, it is personal, private, where there is a spiritual communication between the believer and God. So we can’t always appreciate if the person worships or not, only God knows. On the contrary, when it is praised, we can appreciate how the person sings and raises his hands. But we cannot see the intimate relationship with the Lord.
You can read:
4.- Praise is horizontal, worship is vertical
Worship is more intimate and private and focuses more on Divinity. Praise, on the other hand, does have vertical functions, and adoration may have some horizontal ones, but it is not its main objective.
Praise has to do with a preparation that is made to arrive at worship. So God first seeks to teach the church to praise before entering worship, because when the believer has understood what it means to praise with all his being, he can easily move on to worship, If there are some inhibitions in praise, it can be a huge obstacle to achieving worship.
In this sense, when you sing you seek to achieve adoration; but this song does not endorse praise, just as praise does not guarantee that the threshold of adoration will be crossed.
It should be clarified that the affinity for singing has nothing to do with worship, and we can appreciate this in the word, where a woman anointed Jesus’ feet, which was a real act of worship, where it was not sung. no instruments were played, but she adored him in the most genuine and loving way possible:
“Then a woman from the city, who was a sinner, learning that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar with perfume; and standing behind him at her feet, crying, she began to water her feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair; and she kissed her feet, and anointed them with perfume.” (Luke 7:37-38)
In this verse we can see the real meaning of worship, since it does not refer to a musical activity but to a relationship between our Father and us. It is the surrender of our life to the Lord, without expecting anything in return. No fame, no successes or anything, just his mercy to forgive us and give us salvation.
As for praise, in many cases it is required to move the body, wave the hands, express ourselves externally, since it is necessary to stimulate the body because the spirit has the disposition to worship. However, the body is weak and reluctant.
For its part, worship manifests itself in a different way, since it focuses more on calm and silent delight, where the presence of the Lord is manifested. It has more to do with the spiritual form of expression.
Within worship all external forms of praise can be used such as shouting, clapping, shouting, singing, clapping. However, worship can be given without any outward manifestation unlike praise.
10 Revealing Verses About Praise And Worship
Praising and adoring God are part of the lives of believers, since in churches you can see a group of singers and musicians who are preparing to sing and praise God. This is done with the intention of preparing to be true worshipers, since it is what the Lord is really looking for.
Anyone can praise, but only the person who gives himself wholeheartedly to the Lord and puts his life in his hands will be able to truly adore with his soul. These verses show us what the Lord requires of us:
1.- John 4:23-24
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; because the Father also seeks such worshipers to worship him. God is Spirit; and those who adore him, in spirit and in truth it is necessary that they adore.”
2.- Exodus 15:2
“Jehovah is my strength and my song, and has been my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; God of my father, and I will exalt him.”
3.- Revelation 19:5
“And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all his servants, and you who fear him, both small and great.”
4.- Revelation 5:13
“And all that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and all that is in them, I heard say, The one who sits on the throne, and the Lamb, be the praise, the honor, the glory and the power, forever and ever.”
5.- Psalms 68: 4-5
“Sing to God, sing psalms to his name; Exalt him who rides on the skies. JAH is his name; rejoice before him. Father of orphans and defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling”
6.- 1 Chronicles 16:34-36
“Give thanks to the LORD, for {He is} good; because his mercy is forever. Then say: Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together and deliver us from the nations, so that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said: Amen; and praised the LORD.”
7.- 2 Chronicles 5:13-14
“When the trumpeters and singers with one voice made themselves heard praising and glorifying the LORD, when they lifted up their voices accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and musical instruments, when they praised the LORD saying, Surely He is good because His mercy is forever, then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not stay to minister because of the cloud, because the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”
8.- 2 Chronicles 7:3
“And all the children of Israel, seeing the fire and the glory of the LORD come down on the house, fell with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying, Surely He is good; surely his mercy endures forever.”
9. Ezra 3:11
“And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: For he is good, for his mercy endures forever upon Israel. And all the people cheered with a loud voice…