Why Praise and Worship?

Dearest all,

We are gonna have a Praise and Worship session during the Ablaze Rally. I remember one of my friend asked me, why did I go to a Praise and Worship session?

No short answer of course, different reasons for different people. But allow me to share my favourite verse about Praise and Worship :)

24 Having received this charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's fetters were unfastened.
Acts 16:24-26

This is praise and worship for me! It's the time when we pray and singing hymns to God. And when we do this, we draw people to God (all the prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas!), And...this is what I love most...then there will be an earthquake and the foundations of the prisons will be shaken, and all bonds will be set free!

But what are we set free from? What is our prison? our chains?

I guess that we are set free from our "self", our "ego". For most of us, our days are spent with the great "ME" as the centre of our life. But when we praise and worship, it is never about us, but it is about God. When we praise someone it is because of who He is. And yes, we Praise God, not because of who we are, but because of who He is. And we enter deeply into this intimacy in worship, when we meet Him face to face, when all words fade, and silence reign, and just like Elijah, we Meet God in the still small voice (1 Kgs 19:12). Just as we sing one of the mass song from the Breaking Bread ...

"I have come to you....in the silence..."

and from another song, Heart of Worship:

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come

Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

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
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the things I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

(from the heart of worship lyric)

Praise and Worship? Yes, because It's all about You, Jesus...

your brother in His love,
oka