Ways to Worship

by Debra Hane

What comes to your mind when I say, “Come, let us worship God”? Did you think about going to church and singing praises to God? We often talk about church services as our time of worship. But are there other ways to worship? Psalm 95:6 says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” Whether at church or at home, kneeling or standing, there are different ways to worship God. What are ways you can teach children how to worship?

In Psalm 34:3, David calls us to worship saying, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” God wants us to worship Him with other believers, but attending church doesn’t mean you are worshiping God. You worship God when you adore Him more than anything—even yourself. Do the children you teach understand that only God deserves our worship? They need to learn how to adore God. You can help them look beyond specific actions and develop a proper perspective toward God. You can develop in them a habit of thinking about God and thanking Him for who He is and what He does. Here are four ways to worship that will help develop a greater adoration of God.

1. Adore God as you look at His creation.

Help children recognize God’s continued presence and care for them as they look at His creation. One way you can do that is by teaching and reviewing this poem with them so it becomes part of what they think. As you review the poem together, talk about God’s goodness, power, and wisdom shown through His creation.

Worship God

God is good and cares for me

He is truly all I need

He is perfect and mighty

This I know for I can see

God has made all things around

And gives me all I have found

From colors, sights, and smells and sounds

To the vegetables in the ground

The sky, the clouds, the flowers, and trees

And the animals, birds, and bees

He made you and He made me

With ears and nose and eyes to see

As I see what God has made

I think of Him and then I pray

Thank you God for every day

And loving me in every way

2. Adore God as you read His Word.

Boys and girls will grow to know God better as they read God’s Word. Help them understand that the Bible is different from other books. It is God’s Word to them. They can learn about who God is and trust what it says is true. Challenge them to keep a “My God Is” list in their Bible. As they read, tell them to look for descriptions of what God is like and add it to their list. Then they can think about what it means to them and pray about it. You can even keep a list in your class.

Children need to know who God is so they can grow to have a heart for God

3. Adore God as you pray.

Another part of worship is talking to God and telling Him how wonderful He is. Here’s a way you can help kids do that. Post these three prayer prompters in your room: “God, I love You because . . .” “God, I praise You because . . .” “God, You are wonderful because . . .” Each week before your prayer time, ask the children to complete one of the sentences. Then during your prayer time, give them opportunity to make it their prayer.

4. Adore God as you sing.

In Ephesians 5:19, Paul says you should be, “. . . singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” Let boys and girls know, when they love God, their hearts will want to sing praises to Him. Teach children songs that will help them express their adoration to God. You can use simple songs like “O, How I Love Jesus,” “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” “God Is So Good,” or “Thank You, Lord.”

Let the children you teach know God wants them to have a close friendship with Him

As you teach children how to adore God, help them understand they worship God by giving their whole lives to Him—their time, money, talents, bodies, minds, and hearts. You can help them develop a proper perspective toward God. Children will gain a greater adoration of God as you teach them these four ways to worship Him.

Click here for “Ways to Worship” downloadable resource.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.