Praise is the joyful recognition of all God has done for us. It is associated with thanksgiving as we offer back to God gratefulness for His mighty works on our behalf. Praise is universal and can be applied to other relationships as well. We can praise our family, friends, boss, etc. Praise does not require much of us. It is merely the truthful acknowledgment of the righteous acts of another. Since God has done many wonderful deeds, He is worthy of praise.
Worship comes from a different place within our spirits. Worship must be reserved for God alone. Worship is the art of losing self in the adoration of Him. Praise can be a part of worship, but worship goes beyond praise. 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. Worship is a lifestyle, not just an occasional activity. Worship is not just singing along to the newest and hippest song with an occasional tear. It is not coming to church and acting one way as to appear to others that you're a true worshiper. There is an outward manifestation of those who truly adore the Lord, and are surrendered to Him and His Word.
Worship is the motive of the heart. A person can go through the outward motions and not be worshiping, Psalms 51:16-17 says, “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” Many interpret Matthew 6:5-6 to only mean prayer, but the same is for worship, or anything where the motive is to be seen. Jesus says, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Religion has people stuck with how they look 1-2x a week when they come into the building all the while in secret they are filthy and perverse. It's the same reality Jesus faced with the Pharisees. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.” (Matthew 23:25-27)
God sees the heart, and He desires and deserves sincere, heartfelt praise and worship.
Worship:
H7812 -שָׁחָה shâchâh, shaw-khaw'; a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to God):—bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do reverence to, make to stoop
G4352 - προσκυνέω proskynéō, pros-koo-neh'-o; to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore)
John 4:23-24“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. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 17:17
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Romans 12:1-2
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Rev. 22:8-9
“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Praise:
H1984- הָלַל hâlal, haw-lal'; a primitive root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:—(make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool(-ish, -ly), glory, give (light), be (make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, (sing, be worthy of) praise, rage, renowned, shine.
G1868- ἔπαινος épainos, ep'-ahee-nos; from G1909 and the base of G134; laudation; concretely, a commendable thing:—praise.
The Seven Forms of Praise found in the Old Testament
Towdah- Sacrifice of praise. Foundational to all other forms of praise. Towdah is a heart of faith-praise given at a cost/sacrifice. Historically expressed by raising the right hand (a sign of covenant), as a physical declaration that you believe and glorify God even when you cannot see/feel Him.
Yadah- Hands raised, surrender, cry-out, throw/bless, receive. This is the demonstration of our love and submission to the Lord by the raising of our hands. It is lifting your hands to the Lord in total submission and devotion. This means to show reverence or praise with extended hands. Extend your hands high above your heads in a sign of surrender and desire to be held. You could also use the image of throwing or shooting your praise outwardly to God instead of holding it in. It is to worship with the extended hand. The giving of oneself in worship and adoration. To lift your hands unto the Lord. It carries the meaning of absolute surrender as a young child does to a parent - "pick me up, I'm all yours".
Barak- Quiet voice, kneel, bow, humility, submission. To be completely overwhelmed by His majesty and bow at His feet in submission and honor to the Lord. Laying prostrate before the King of Glory.
Halal- Soul rejoice, dance, shine forth, clamorously exclaim, This means to rave and boast of the wonders of the Lord with excitement through dance. This is also where we get the word Hallelujah from. It literally means “Praise the Lord '' but even more literally it means to BE CLAMOROUSLY FOOLISH unto the Lord! This includes dancing and laughing and leaping and twirling before the Lord, but it also (and probably more accurately) includes the state of the heart before God. A heart that is turned towards God and not afraid to BOAST in and of God is a “halal” heart. Halal is not only demonstrative praise, but can also be the force behind any of these other forms of praise. You can sing or shout or even play an instrument as a halal.
Zamar- Play for Him a song, to praise with an instrument. The second signing of a song and the most common found in churches in this day and age.
Shabach- Shout for joy, loudly, triumphant, as if victory was in balance and we win! to address in a loud tone, a loud adoration, a shout! Proclaim with a loud voice, unashamed, the GLORY, TRIUMPH, POWER, MERCY, LOVE OF GOD. This word implies that testimony is praise. The phrase "shout unto the Lord" can be understood as the action of SHABACH. It is not just being loud. You should have the attitude of putting your whole being into it, an attitude of being totally uninhibited.
Tehilah- This type of praise is singing, but not just any type of singing. It’s the singing that bubbles up from our hearts. It’s a spontaneous type of singing. These songs are unrehearsed and unprepared. They are straight to God. Psalm 22:3 (these are the types of “praises'' that God enthrones or inhabits, which is interesting because it’s so specific: God literally lives in the SPONTANEOUS praises of His people!); Psalm 33:1 (this type of praise is “fitting” for God’s people, or it literally makes them “look good”); When Isaiah talks about trading garments of ashes and mourning for garments of joy and praise, the word praise their literally means SPONTANEOUS praises!)
Now that we know there are multiple forms of praise we need to understand when the word praise is used in the Word, that’s it’s not all the same. When you’re led by the Holy Spirit dig deeper and see what is being used in that context of scripture.Psalm 100 (Four Types Used)
A Psalm of praise (Towdah) .Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (Towdah), And into his courts with praise (Tehilah): Be thankful (Yadah) unto him, and bless (Barak) his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.