“Shout To The Lord” - Darlene Zschech

1965–

On Sunday mornings, millions of Christians go to church and worship. We sing songs of praise and maybe an old hymn or two, listen to a soloist sing a beautiful song (and envy her voice), perhaps see a drama group enact a scene with a message, and spend a little time in prayer. And, with the exception of a quick song at the end of the service, once the pastor gets up to give the sermon, the worship is over.

Or is it?

Maybe during one of your worship times you’ve sung Darlene Zschech’s praise song “Shout to the Lord,” one of the most popular songs of the modern worship music genre. In a few lines of this song, Darlene suggests that worship is never ending.

Let every breath, all that I am

Never cease to worship you.

How is that possible to “never cease” worshiping God? How can we do so with “every breath”? You’ve got a job to do. A family to spend time with. Friends to be social with. Laundry that keeps piling up. Are you supposed to sing hymns throughout all of that, only stopping for times of prayer?

Not exactly. If you think of worship as only singing and praying, then you probably won’t be able to worship God without ceasing. But if you consider worship to be anything you give to God, then it becomes easier to see how you can worship all the time.

Just how do you give the time you spend with family or friends to God? How about making the effort to speak and act around them the way you know God would like? How do you give your laundry duties to God? Instead of treating it as a hassle, you can choose to be grateful that you have a closet full of clothes and a washing machine to make cleaning them easy. You can look at your job as an offering to God as well.

Where can you add a little non-singing and non-praying worship in your life?

Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.

1 Chronicles 16:29