Why is it so difficult to worship?

People often ask me “Why is it so difficult to enter into worship?” As a worship leader, how often have I looked into the faces of the congregation, staring back at me like animals trapped in my headlights and I hear myself saying, “Let’s get excited about God today.” I want people to realize that there is a battle around worship – reasons why it is hard to praise, give thanks or even to focus upon God.

Several years ago, on a summer mission outreach in Prague, Czech Republic with a worship team, the unseen resistance became very visible…

Our team’s purpose was to lift up the name of Jesus in the city and so we began each day by asking God to show us how to do that.

One sunny afternoon the 19 of us started at the “Powder Tower” and zigzagged through the old city streets towards the Prague Castle. Because it wasn’t our aim to draw attention to ourselves, we sang and prayed softly on our journey. Crossing the St.Charles Bridge, filled with its musicians and artists’ kiosks, we blended in with hundreds of tourists. As I led our group, flanked by the four young children in our team, I suddenly remembered a very dark character on that bridge: an artist who painted himself as the devil into each of his landscapes. He was loud, unpredictable and often smeared red paint onto his bare chest, wearing devil’s horns on his head and sticking out his tongue rudely. I was concerned for the children, imagining the fright they could get from this man, especially if he heard Whom we were singing about.

I spotted him when we were still out of earshot, a good 20 meters distance, and kept my eye on him as we proceeded, quietly singing a praise song. It was then that I saw a most amazing display. We were still about 15 meters from him when the man wordlessly bowed forward, and covered his head and ears until we passed by! Surely it was not possible in the cacophony of sound on that bridge for him to have physically been able to hear us. No, what I saw and will never forget was a public and visible demonstration of what was taking place in the unseen spiritual realm – the forces of darkness in that soul were bowing before the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Power of Worship

Since that day I have sought to gain a greater understanding of the power of worship through studying the Scriptures.

In the Bible we read about the Ark of the Covenant being a reflection (Hebrews 9) of what is actually taking place in the heavens, or the unseen world. On top of the Ark, the presence of Almighty God is encircled by special angels called “cherubim” whose purpose it was to worship God and to lead the heavenly host in worship as they magnified God. (Rev.4: 6-11)

One of these cherubim ‘worship leaders’ was Lucifer who, as we know from the Bible (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek 28:12-19), had tried to usurp God’s glory and become the worshipped instead of the worshipper.

Singer-songwriter Matt Redman tells the story of the donkey who remarked to his wife coming home from work one day “I had a wonderful day, dear! I went to Jerusalem and they absolutely loved me there, laying down their mantels and palm branches to soothe my hot hooves and crying “Hosanna!” It seems that the donkey overlooked the man on his back.

Angels are beautifully described in different biblical passages and it seems they are glorious to behold. Angels are so full of glory that they’re called “morning stars” because of the brightness of their glory, among whom Jesus was the Chief or brightest Morning Star (Rev. 22:16).

Being so close to God’s glory night and day, Lucifer made a fateful decision when pride rose in his heart and he chose to disobey God. Lucifer wanted to be worshipped and he was able to deceive at least one-third of the other angels (Rev.12:4) who also chose to rebel. Therefore, the other two-thirds of all created angels, led by Michael the archangel, threw Lucifer and his followers out of heaven (Rev.12:9).

Suddenly there were thousands upon thousands of fallen angels now committed to worship Lucifer (or ‘satan’ because his angelic name was stripped of him) roaming the earth. And Satan planned his revenge and counter-attack.

The choice

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created to have be in loving relationship with God and to worship Him. God gave them a free will, so they could freely choose to obey and love Him, which is the essence of true love – when one freely chooses to give their heart and soul to another. God also delegated some of His authority to them to rule the earth and, as long as they lived in right relationship with Him, they remained under His protection.

Enter the serpent… Satan’s plan was to entice them to disobey God, which would break their relationship with God and, through their disobedience, gain a legal right to their authority and hopefully their allegiance.

In Genesis 3 we read the sad story of how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and, in doing so, chose for satan. Sin entered the heart of man and brought a separation between him and God.

Much as we like to think that we could have passed that same test, our daily lives prove otherwise. Satan is still trying to get us to choose against God… to be selfish and serve his purposes instead of God’s. We cannot worship both, as the angels found out long ago.

We are never forced to love and obey God, which is to worship Him. It remains our choice. This is why, as worship leaders, it should come as no surprise what forces are truly at work, whether seen or unseen, when we aim to lead others to worship. It is imperative that we, of all people, realize how powerful it is when we make the choice to worship God. It defeats the enemy’s forces in our lives. Praising God is the act that silences the powers of darkness around us, causing them to bow as we proclaim the truth that Jesus is Lord!

Worshipping God will always be a battle until our foe is finally silenced and Jesus returns to rule and reign on earth, as He does in heaven. Let us choose to worship Him now and to express our worship boldly, leading others to choose the same.

-Belinda van de Loo
Missionary with Youth With A Mission in the Netherlands
www.belindaloo.com