Worship isn’t about you. Worship isn’t about me. We were made to worship God, and while we may sometimes benefit from that, it’s not the goal. And so, our worship must be a lifestyle of reverence, focused only on God, whether or not we benefit from it. So, now that we know how to approach worship, let’s look to Jesus.
How does Jesus worship? Jesus is our prime example of how to live things out, how to live in this world, how to treat people, and how to serve. We read about Jesus bowing down in worship in Matthew 26 starting with verse 36 where it says,
36 “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus submits himself fully and completely to God even though he doesn’t have to. He himself is God!
Sometimes we try to take this example and we’ll pray “not my will but yours be done,” but the problem is that oftentimes our so-called submission to God sounds a little more like, “Lord will you please give me a raise, but not my will, yours be done” or, “Lord would you please give me a new job, but not my will, yours be done.” It’s like all we’re doing is trying to cover our bases just in case God doesn’t give us what we want.
In the passage above, Jesus is modeling worship for us. When Jesus worships, he submits his very life to the will of God. He gives everything. When Jesus prays not my will but yours be done, he’s laying it all down and submitting everything to God.