One reason I think some people have trouble worshiping is because they're afraid of what somebody else is going to think about them. We have to keep in mind that real worship means we're focused on Jesus. We’ve come into complete God consciousness and are praising Him--not worrying what somebody else is thinking.

God is not just seeking worship; He’s seeking worshipers. And if we're not in tune with what worship really is, Satan can completely distort it. He can distort it through the traditions, words, persuasions and pleadings of men. He uses the perpetuated fads and the allure of popularity to distort true worship.

Misplaced Worship

Worship is misplaced when people revere the sanctuary. How can you tell when this is happening? You can tell when people fight over pews, get upset over the P.A. system or argue over material things at the church.
Worship is also misplaced if people adore a person, such as a pastor, music leader or other type of minister instead of God. When people find out their pastor or music leader is not perfect and they leave the church, then where was their focus? We need our people to understand they are not to place their focus on a person, pastor, minister of music or church leader. We’re not worthy of worship.

Worship is misplaced if people clamor for power on committees, value absolute perfection in administration or care more about church programs than giving reverence to God.

When people are focused on things rather than the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our responsibility to teach them what it means to truly worship the Lord. The devil is working overtime in getting our people to misplace their worship.

Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth
 
In the study, Worship: Believers Experiencing God authors Henry Blackaby and Ron Owens emphasize the importance of worshipping God in spirit and in truth. But what does this mean?

When people worship in spirit, they are worshiping in sincerity and from the heart. A lot of people miss it by about 18 inches -- their worship is all in their minds, not their hearts.

There are four requirements to worshiping in spirit. They are:
• to be born again,
• to give adoration and praise to God,
• to maintain a repentant and contrite heart toward God and
• to focus on God.

In many churches in our country, the minds of our people are focused on a thousand different things like where are they going to eat lunch, who’s going to win the ballgame, problems in their marriages, cancer or lost jobs. We are not to focus on the pastor, the minister of music, the soloist or even on each other. We are to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.

To worship in truth means people are willing to confront, confess and abandon their sins. It also means that during the service, more time will be spent reading and examining God’s Word than giving announcements or singing.

Recently, I went to a church, and I counted the time they spent making announcements and welcoming guests. It was 12 to 15 minutes. Then I counted the time they spent praying and reading Scripture. It was 45 seconds!

And we wonder why we are not experiencing the power of God in our worship services. Many of our worship services are just concerts. God is not just seeking worship; He’s seeking worshipers. Otherwise we could insert a CD of praise music and be done with it.