What's the difference between worship and praise

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What is the difference in praise and worship? What is worship? These Scriptures show they're different.

"And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." II Chron 7

"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." Psa 138

"Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped." "II Chron 29

Then "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4

Know worshipping in truth is important but want to understand worshipping God in spirit better.

 

[Always in His Presence]

Praise is thanking God for what He is doing or has done.
Worship is your heart cry for who God is to you personally.

In the natural -

Praise is thanking your dad for a gift or an action done on your behalf.
Worship is crawling up into his lap and telling him how much you love him.

That is the best I have ever come across.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I give my children praise when they do good on their school assignments. I'd congratulate them on a job well done and applaud them. I'd praise my boss when they gave me a raise, "Man thank you so much!" Praise to me is a response to something done.

I (used to) worship my favorite sports team, wearing their colors everywhere. Defending them, boasting in them, supporting them. Worship to me is more a state of being.

When we worship, we usually praise at the same time, but it is possible to praise without worshipping.

 

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"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him."

John 4:23

 

[sunlover1]

Hi! Great responses and discussion!
I'll add my .02 to the mix.
Worship involves one party indicating that the other party has greater worth/rank.
And involves deference.

προσκυνέω [proskuneo /pros·koo·neh·o/] v. From 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); TDNT 6:758; TDNTA 948; GK 4686; 60 occurrences; AV translates as “worship” 60 times. 1 to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence. 2 among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence. 3 in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication. 3a used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank. 3a1 to the Jewish high priests. 3a2 to God. 3a3 to Christ. 3a4 to heavenly beings. 3a5 to demons.

To worship in spirit means we worship from that place of our spirit man. So it's spirit to Spirit. Rather than flesh to Spirit. imo.
Like from the heart not the mind. but that's so deep!
Hope a lot of people share more!
Here's the strongs entry that's linked to that verse for spirit.

TDNT 6:332; TDNTA 876; GK 4460; 385 occurrences; AV translates as “Spirit” 111 times, “Holy Ghost” 89 times, “Spirit (of God)” 13 times, “Spirit (of the Lord)” five times, “(My) Spirit” three times, “Spirit (of truth)” three times, “Spirit (of Christ)” twice, “human (spirit)” 49 times, “(evil) spirit” 47 times, “spirit (general)” 26 times, “spirit” eight times, “(Jesus’ own) spirit” six times, “(Jesus’ own) ghost” twice, and translated miscellaneously 21 times. 1 a movement of air (a gentle blast. 1a of the wind, hence the wind itself. 1b breath of nostrils or mouth. 2 the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated. 2a the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides. 2b the soul. 3 a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting. 3a a life giving spirit. 3b a human soul that has left the body. 3c a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel. 3c1 used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men. 3c2 the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ. 4 of God. 4a God’s power and agency distinguishable in thought from his essence in itself considered. 4a1 manifest in the course of affairs. 4a2 by its influence upon the souls productive in the theocratic body (the church) of all the higher spiritual gifts and blessings. 4a3 the third person of the trinity, the God the Holy Spirit. 5 the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one. 5a the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.

James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995).

 

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still researching - so far

We praise God with our souls but we worship Him with our spirits.

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4

Worshipping God in spirit isnt singing but it can lead to worship. Thanksgiving and praise is how we enter into His courts (Psa 100). So acknowledging God's goodness and greatness are vital components..

Worship is an attitude of bowing down - even our human spirits bowing down before God and acknowledging His holiness. Spirit to spirit and spirit to Spirit communication. (Zech 2:13, Psa 95:6, 96:9, 99:5).

 

[Always in His Presence]

Worshipping God in spirit isnt singing

It is when I am expressing my love for my Father and I run out of words, so my spirit sings and worships.

1 Cor 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
​

Whether I Worship God in prayer or singing - it is worshipping God.

It's the most powerful use of tongue there is, it edifies you and blesses Him

​

 

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What I posted "Worshipping God in spirit isnt singing but can lead to worship."

Because there are non-believers who sing religious songs who aren't worshipping God. Plus believers can be singing and wondering where did she get that dress, how long services are going to last, etc

 

[ARBITER01]

"And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." II Chron 7

You answered your own question.

Worship is just that, a bowing of ourselves to His greatness. We connect with GOD in a greater way than just prayer. It brings about holiness/light in our lives.

 

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Listening to Derek Prince who said thankfulness is about God's goodness, praise is about God's greatness, and worship is about God's holiness.

 

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From Dr. Michal Youssef's book “Empowered by Praise" Praise creates a stronger desire for God and worship is the route to fellowship with God.

 

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Just found Dr Youssef's “Empowered by Praise" part 1-6 on youtube if anyone is interested. Listened to part 1 for a few min so far and wanted to pass this info.

 

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Continuing to look primarily at worshipping God in spirit:

'Understanding the difference between praise and worship can bring a new depth to the way we honor the Lord." gotquestions.org/difference-praise-worship.html

God seeks true worshippers. Then the next verse states worship our Father in spirit and truth, also. (John 4:23-24). Rejoice in Jesus, spirit to Spirit "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil 3:3). True worship is inner spiritual expression.

Praise is thanking God for what He has done. Hallelujah. Worshipping only God means “revere” and “adore.” Worth-ship. Focusing on who God is and humbling ourselves before Him.

"A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship ... the offering of the soul..." excerpts from Barnes Notes on the Bible "...his nature is spiritual, his worship, to be acceptable, must be so likewise." excerpt from Benson Commentary "...must worship him in spirit and in truth; in the true and spiritual manner before described, which is suitable to his nature, and agreeably to his will." excerpts from Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Also, "Thanksgiving and praise – our appropriate responses to the goodness and greatness of God – are primarily utterances. We speak them, we sing them, we may even shout them. But few people realise that worship is not primarily an utterance; it is an attitude of the whole being. I personally believe, ... that worship is the highest activity of which any human being is capable. By worship we acknowledge God’s holiness.

Worship involves our whole body – not just our vocal organs. Every word for worship used in the original language of the Bible, so far as I know, either in the Hebrew of the Old Testament or in the Greek of the New, describes a bodily attitude or posture. Thus, certain specific attitudes are characteristic of worship." excerpts from Derek Prince's article "Worship" derekprince.com/teaching/19-4

Additionally, Worship is the fullest expression of fellowship. Our souls decides whether we yield to the flesh or to the spirit. excerpt from Benny Hinn's, "How to Worship in the Spirit"

"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker." (Psa 95:6).
(Gen 24:26, 48, 52; Exo 4:31, 12:27, 34:8; I Chron 29:20; II Chron 7:3, 20:18, 29:30; Neh 8:6; Matt 2:11).

 

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"Praise is easy; worship is not. Worship gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our self-worship. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done.

Just as praise is intertwined with thanksgiving, worship is intertwined with surrender. It is impossible to worship God and anything else at the same time (Luke 4:8). Worship is an attitude of the heart. A person can go through the outward motions and not be worshiping (Psalm 51:16-17; Matthew 6:5-6). God sees the heart, and He desires and deserves sincere, heartfelt praise and worship." gotquestions.org/difference-praise-worship.html

Also. "Worship goes beyond words and feelings. It is the foundation for our true servanthood towards God. This is why worship is so intimate ― it defines our relationship with him. There is nothing on this earth, or in our lives, that is more important than our relationship with God." thelife.com/what-is-praise-and-worship

"Praise stems from recognising the good acts of God but worship is not a function of the acts of God. Worship comes from the core of who the worshipper is and what God means to the them." excerpt from TD Jakes', Difference between Praise and Worship

Psa 95, CJB, AMPC

 

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"In thanksgiving we list God’s benefits, in praise God is the benefit. Thanksgiving is like a child opening a gift from a parent, a new doll or a baseball mitt, and throwing her arms around her mom and dad and saying, “Thank you, thank you! It’s just what I wanted. It’s wonderful!” Praise is what happens when that child can pause and look up from the gift into her folks’ eyes and say, “You are wonderful.” There is, in prayer and worship, a kind of ascendancy that moves from thanks to praise to wonder to awe and silence—and then back again to thanks to praise to wonder to awe to silence. (from Deepening your Conversation with God, by Ben Patterson). quoted by Nancy Kay Grace, What's the Difference between Praise and Thanks at nancykaygrace.com/praise-thanks-difference/

"...praise doesn’t necessarily have to be directed towards God. We can praise God amongst ourselves by declaring his goodness, but worship must be directed towards God. It could be said that praise can be horizontal, worship is always vertical. Praise can be sung about God, but worship must always be sung directly to him. The bible talks about a sacrifice of praise that is found in Hebrews 13:15 and Jeremiah 33:11, but there is NO sacrifice of worship." "...remember this bottom line: the sacrifice of praise is the “fruit of the lips” by saying something to God in your actions, but worship is the “fruit of the heart” by loving and respecting Him." excerpts from Sister Shelena at ilovepraiseandworship.net/2016/06/22/praise-and-worship-what-is-the-difference/

"So, here is my summary: The inner essence of worship is to know God truly and then respond from the heart to that knowledge by valuing God, treasuring God, prizing God, enjoying God, being satisfied with God above all earthly things. And then that deep, restful, joyful satisfaction in God overflows in demonstrable acts of praise from the lips and demonstrable acts of love in serving others for the sake of Christ." excerpts from John Piper at desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-worship

 

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A few Scriptures about worshipping without singing at those times:
"And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Gen 22:5

Nor with Abraham's servant Gen 24:26, 24:48, 52

Nor when the Lord gave Moses the 10 Commandments:
"And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, v 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped." Exo 34

Nor when the Wise Men worshipped Jesus.
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh." Matt 2:11

 

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"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
The Wise Men bowed and worshipped Jesus then presented gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Matt 2:10-1).

Gold denotes kings and their kingdoms. (Rev 17:14, Matt 4, 9, 10). In this case, the King of Kings was given honor and worshipped. Later, gold, frankincense and myrrh were used in the tabernacle and temple which pointed to Christ Jesus. Gold was used extensively as shown by the lampstand being shaped out of one talent of pure gold and among other tabernacle objects, the Ark of the Covernant was overlaid with pure gold (Exo 25-26, 28).

God's instructions to Moses included using frankincense on the meat offerings and the bread of the Presence as well as make incense for the tabernacle (Lev 2, 24, Exo 30). It was not to be used for personal use. It was a key part of worship in the tabernacle and the temple and was considered holy. Additionally, "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." (Psa 141:2). @lso,
"And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne." (Rev 8:3).

Myrrh was the main ingredient in the anointing oil for both the priests and the items used in the tabernacle (Exo 30). They were set apart for service.

A pattern of worship:
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psa 100:4) One day in His courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. (Psa 84:10). Also, generally there's a pattern in prayer. Before making requests, Jesus taught us to give honor and acknowledge who He is and surrender "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matt 6)

 

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Jesus, while on earth, was God and fully human. (Joh 1:14, 8:58). Noted the Scriptures about His human spirit (Pneuma)
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"And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?" Mark 2:8

"And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation." Mark 8:12

"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled." Joh 11:33 (Lazarus' sister, Mary)

"When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." Joh 13:21

"And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." Luk 23:46

(Later "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:19).

 

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Jesus "In that same hour He rejoiced and gloried in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have concealed these things [relating to salvation] from the wise and understanding and learned, and revealed them to babes (the childish, unskilled, and untaught). Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will and choice and good pleasure." Luk 10:21

 

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Our souls and spirits are different:
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb 4:12

So as believers , our spirits are ...
"But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him." (I Cor 6:17) "The Lord is within your spirit and his grace overflows to you!" (II Tim 4:22).

God can stir our spirits as shown in this verse "Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, with all those whose spirits God had stirred up, to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:5; Haggai 1:14

Our spirits believe the Word. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; ...The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) Additionally, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." (Pro 4).

"But it is the spirit in a person, the breath from Shaddai, that gives him understanding" Job 32:8

Plus as believers,
-we can pray in tongues ((as already pointed out) "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive [because it does not understand what my spirit is praying]." (I Cor 14:14) "...that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself;..." (I Cor 14:4).
- we can praise God in tongues "For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God..." (Acts 10:46).

Plus ...