Worship is one of the most important actions of a believer. Biblical worship is defined as a full life response—head, heart, and hands—to who God is and what He has done. It is our love expressed to God as a response to His grace toward us. Sometimes this response comes in loud proclamation and praise similar to a Sunday morning gathering, while other times it happens in the quiet corners of our lives. While both personal and corporate worship are important, they each have their place. Corporate worship is anytime more than one person gathers to proclaim the name of Christ. Jesus tells us that “…where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). This truth is seen weekly as believers gather all over the world to worship the Savior. The goal of this time is not only to grow in our love and knowledge of God but also to build up the church. We are often tempted to use Sundays as a time to “recharge,” and we hope it will get us through the week until we need another charge next Sunday. While this is not wrong in and of itself, corporate worship should always be paired with personal worship.
Personal worship is anytime someone spends time with the Lord alone. This can be through a daily devotional, prayer, or even singing worship songs in the shower! It is during these times that our relationship with Jesus deepens as we engage in one-on-one communication with Him. As we grow in that relationship, we should be able to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We need to know that time spent with the Lord alone in personal worship is not only essential to our relationship with Christ, but it also informs and affirms what we do in corporate worship. Corporate and personal worship should not look the same because they have different purposes! While both are intended to praise God, the way that is done varies. It is for this reason many of the songs that are great for personal worship do not fit in a corporate worship setting. An accurate understanding of these two necessary forms of worship helps to facilitate engagement first with Christ in your own life, then in your connection to the body of Christ as a whole, which leads into a life on mission because the world needs Jesus.
