PLAYBOOK DEVOTIONAL
Athlete, Give Praise and Worship to God
Jarrett Whitson
Psalm 100 (ESV)
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
Worship is defined as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for.”
We will worship, adore and revere (reverence means “deep respect for someone or something”) whatever is most important to us.
As humans, we often worship the wrong things. Idolatry doesn’t only happen with statues or in foreign countries, it occurs when we give our devotion and heart to anything other than God. Common idols in our day are ourselves, the opinion of others, our sport, food, technology, entertainment, and so much more.
God is worthy of our worship. He is worthy of our worship because of His greatness and character, and all He has done.
In Psalm 103, we see many reasons to worship God. The psalmist starts by saying, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits,” (Psalm 100:1-2).
He goes on to list attributes of God and things He has done that cause his heart to want to worship God: forgiving sin and not treating us according to it, being merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, His throne and kingdom being eternal and over all, to name a few.
Reading Scripture and praying it back to God is one way to worship Him. In prayer we talk to God and tell Him why we love Him, how great He is, and what we are thankful to Him for.
We also worship God through song. Many songs have been written by Christians over the years to stir our hearts and affections to praise God. Ask a friend or mentor for recommendations.
May we give God the worship, praise and glory that He deserves.
Reflect: Spend time writing out reasons you see in God’s character that He is worthy of praise. Listen to worship music and sing praise to God. Read and pray through Psalm 103 as a way to worship God.
A prayer to consider: Father God, you are so great. You are so powerful, so holy, so gracious, so just and righteous, so good. All the worship I could ever give You would not be enough. I confess that my heart is prone to idolize and give worship to things other than You.
Please help me to worship You alone, adoring You most. Show me how to worship You in a genuine, heartfelt way. Grow my love and affection for You. In Jesus’s name and for Your glory I pray. Amen.
