Why You Need to Worship
By Rick Warren
“That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.” Daniel 2:19 (NLT)
Most of us don’t really know what to do when we’re confronted by an impossible situation. Did you know that a teenage boy from thousands of years ago can help?
Over the past few devotionals, we’ve learned some incredible principles from how Daniel dealt with an impossible request by the most powerful king of his time. So far we’ve seen Daniel take these four actions:
- Don’t panic, and then get all the facts.
- Ask for more time.
- Gather prayer partners.
- Ask God for supernatural help.
The next thing we learn from Daniel is to worship God.
It is important to understand that worship is much more than just music. There are thousands of ways to worship. Any time you turn your attention to God, that’s worship. When you express your love to God, that’s worship. You don’t have to be in church to worship.
Why should you worship? Because when you worship God, you move your focus off of your problem and onto God.
The Bible says, “That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven” (Daniel 2:19 NLT).
This passage shows you how to worship God in the midst of a crisis. When Daniel faced death, he prayed to God for wisdom and help. And God answered! Daniel said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded” (Daniel 2:19-23 NLT).
Daniel did three things: He praised God for who he is, he honored God for what he does, and he thanked God for his help.
That’s worship. Do that, and you’ll move the focus off of you and your problems and put it on God—and he’s always where our focus should be.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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