Difference Between Praise and Worship
In my last article, we discussed the power of worship—if you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend you take a look and join the discussion as we all grow closer to Christ. This article builds on my last one; praise and worship are both important aspects of our faith and often referenced interchangeably—but what are the differences between them?
First, let’s go over Praise.
If you type the word praise into Google, you will learn it means to express a favorable judgement of; to commend or to glorify.
Hebrew and Greek definitions of praise describe the term as: to sing, honor, celebrate, or glory.
So, when we praise God, we are actually commending God, we are celebrating God, and honoring God. Commending or celebrating someone usually happens in response to a very positive event. We praise God when He gives us that promotion we’ve been praying about. We praise God when a really good parking spot opens right in front of the store. We even praise God when we’re feeling the music at church.
Isaiah 25:1 NIV says, Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
Not only does this verse mention praising God, but it gives us the reason why. Not just because God has done wonderful things, but because God acts on plans He has had in place long ago—demonstrating His perfect faithfulness. This verse is doing more than just praising God for something good that He has done for us. It is proving to us that, in His perfection, God Himself is worthy of praise simply because He is God. This means we can praise God in good times and in bad times—think of Paul and Silas singing in the prison [Acts 16:25].
My friends, you don’t need a reason to praise God—to celebrate Him, commend Him, or honor Him. These are acts that come naturally to us because we serve a perfect and good God. Praise is an outward expression that honors God but also celebrates His attributes—His provision, His love for us, His healing powers, etc… In praising God, we relate to others His goodness, thus spreading the Word through our testimony and outward expression.
Now, let’s look at Worship.
According to Google, to worship is the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. Biblically speaking, the Hebrew word for worship is Shachah, which means to bow down. Some Christian sources also define worship as lifting something/someone up or declaring the greatness of something or someone.
This sounds really similar to praise, doesn’t it? But there is one big difference between the two terms. Praise is a celebration; worship is an exaltation.
To exalt God is to lift Him up, to place Him higher than you.
When you worship God, you are setting yourself aside to fully embrace Him and all of His glory. This is why it is imperative that we, as Christians, do not have idols in our lives. To idolize someone is to place them on a pedestal—above you—in a form of reverence and worship. God is the only one we should worship because He is the only one we can connect to through worship.
What I mean by that is, worship is more than simply bowing your head to someone great. It is a spiritual act.
John 4:24 NIV: God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Why do you think Jesus told us to worship in Spirit? Because we ourselves are spirit beings—just as God is. When you worship in spirit, you are lifting up God through the Holy Spirit who resides in you. This is something that can only be done by Believers—in fact, I believe worship was created solely for the Believer. This is why having worldly idols is such a terrible thing because it goes against the very nature of worship itself.
So, praise is something that can be done publicly and can be used as a testimony or a celebration of God and His goodness. But worship is more intimate; it involves your heart and is done through the acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit.
Notice, neither praise nor worship directly involves music and singing—yet the term Praise and Worship Service is something Christians have grown so accustomed to hearing. There is nothing wrong with praise and worship through song and these acts can certainly involve music, but please remember that you don’t have to be in church with a choir singing in the background to honor God or bow down to Him. You can praise God whenever or however you want. You can worship Him in your private space or in the aisles of the church. Don’t limit yourself and don’t get too caught up with the technicality of praise and worship.
The Lord inspired me to write this article to help readers understand the difference between the two terms. But I believe, more than anything, God wants you to know that no matter what definition you find or memorize, the best praise and worship comes from the heart with Christ at the center.
Be blessed in Jesus’ mighty name.