敬拜（古英文 WORTHSHIP）的原意是指我們在神的面前俯伏下拜，承認祂在我們心目中的地位和價值。也就是說，敬拜是我們對神的偉大、尊容、美善... 的回應。因此，我們對神有多少認識，才能有多少敬拜。難怪寶座周圍的四活物和二十四位長老晝晝夜夜都在敬拜！
我們對神的認識既是這麼膚淺，如何能敬拜呢？所幸，當我們按照對神僅有的認識，全心去敬拜的時候，祂便向我們顯現，使我們更認識祂。而這更深的認識，不只使我們更被懾服、更渴望敬拜祂，往往也提升我們對神的信靠和委身－當祂在我們的心目中、生命中興旺了，我們的老性情、舊觀念自然就衰微了（約翰福音 3 章 30 節）。越敬拜就越認識、越認識就越敬拜... 這樣的循環最終使我們在愛裡與祂聯合，成為親密的伴侶。
廣義地來說，我們可以統稱寶座前一手拿琴，一手拿金香爐（啟示錄五章８節）的事奉為敬拜，也就是將誠心的禱告（可言喻或無法言傳的感謝、讚美、敬愛、獻祭、痛悔、祈求、仰望等等），伴隨音樂（或奏或唱）獻在主的寶座前。這是音樂的終極目的，也是上好的福分（路加福音十章４２節）。
我們必須求主教導如何在聚會中真實地敬拜，因為若要挽救教會脫離這些陳規舊習，勢必得做一些事。除非敬拜能使我們的心摸著神的心，否則那根本不是敬拜，只是噪音罷了。假如我們摸著神的心，我們的心就會被改變。每次崇拜的聚會都應該朝見主。我們瞻仰主的榮耀，就會被那榮耀所改變。然而真實的敬拜並非來自嘗試看見主，而是來自與主相遇。
一些明顯的實用步驟，有助於在崇拜聚會中真實地朝見主。首先，何不讓大家想坐就坐呢？倘若大家享有坐的自由，當他們站立時，就會是真正地尊崇主。威爾斯大復興期間誕生(或再生)的『用靈歌唱』也是極好的方式，能讓個人以自己的敬拜真實觸摸神的心。敬拜若變成機械化或另一個傳統，就不具有建設性；但是，信徒若能釋放地向主唱出心裏的歌，我們就有極大的可能用心靈和誠實敬拜主了。
大部分的會眾的確需要一位元主領在聚會中引導整個敬拜，他在帶領敬拜時，可能是聖靈所使用的器皿。但是，如果要經歷真正的敬拜，那麼敬拜的主領在引導至一個地步時就必須讓路，因為只要我們所注意的是主領之人，就無法發自內心真的敬拜主，而是跟隨一個人了。
我去過的很多教會沒有敬拜的主領，因為他們宣稱完全蒙聖靈引導，但其實較常是由不成熟和悖逆的人所帶領。容讓一群不成熟的會眾這麼做，結果可能會很慘，但我們應該將眼光放遠，期待日後要成熟到完全由聖靈引導的水準。真正的敬拜必能帶來主明顯的同在，那時血氣和魔鬼都不敢現身。
Behind the Veil: Heaven Touching Earth in Worship
Rev 4:1 - After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
My goal in worship is to get behind the veil. My passion is His presence. His presence is manna that must be sought after and received every single day or it becomes stale. There is one thing that God cannot deny - hunger for Him.
How hungry are you? Are you willing to passionately press through into His presence? Beloved, He must first deal with your heart. One key to unlock worship is first asking the Lord if there is anything hindering us in our heart. As I work through stripping off all sin and self before the Lord, it is as though I trade in my rags for His robes of righteousness. Then, He can begin to give you His heart, His purposes, His love for you and His people.
During worship there is so much activity happening in the supernatural. It is when the creative presence of the Lord God touches His people. Some people see pictures, hear Scriptures, get a word of knowledge, or hear His voice. All of it is valid, real and scriptural. But, what does worship really do?
Worship moves the very heart of God and changes the very heart of man. It takes only a few seconds of a face-to-face encounter with the manifest presence of God to change the course of human history for you, your city, or your nation.
