Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23,24

I love this verse. I think about it a lot- does anyone have any input on what they think Jesus meant by these words? I hope that the way I worship God is the way He wants to be worshiped- in spirit and in truth; Jesus says that these are the true worshipers- these are the kind that He seeks. I want to please Him from the inner depths of my spirit; I really want to commune with the Lord in the way that He seeks. I was hoping someone might have deeper explanation into these things!

Hi Melanie, very good question! Well, I once printed out some statements the Lord told Rick Joyner while he was in heaven and to answer your question, here is something the Lord told Rick:

"Nothing brings Me more joy than when you worship My Father. I went to the cross so you could worship Him through Me. Your worship when you are in the middle of troubles, touches Him even more than all the worship from heaven. If you worship without seeing this glory, in the middle of your trials, that is worship in Spirit and in truth. Don't waste your trials! You will never be stronger than when you bring Him joy, cause the joy of the Lord is your strength."


Hope this brings you more clarification? I keep this in my prayers once a week, so I wouldn't forget it !

Email: jan.sabrina@pandora.be

Wow, wise question Melanie and answer Sabrina.

I think worshiping God is the essence of being a Christian, it is at the heart of who we are and do.

"An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth;

for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers" . . . John 4:23 . . Our Lord will have us near him, our souls most satisfied, huh, learning of Him as our Lord, oh, to behold HIM as HE IS.



Bless the saved awakened to worship our God!!



"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" John 17:3

Thinking of king David who had the best this world could offer, and yet he said, "The ONE thing I have asked from the Lord,
that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple" . . Psalms 27:4

His passion gets me, his inspiration a well of beautiful Psalms He wrote and sang. What a gift, what a lesson the world knows nothing of.

We have the Word, . . . David loved beholding the beauty of the Lord" and he wanted to meditate on His LORD for the rest of his life.

As John MacArthur would say: Worship is an overflow of a mind renewed by the truth of God".

Thanks for Melanie, for this post . . great study!!

Website: Being close

I was taught in bible school that to worship Jesus in spirit meant to worship him from your heart... and truth was the word of God...I loved this class...we would sit around the piano and while our teachers (who were our music ministers from church) played and we would worship Jesus...kind of like this place we were knitted together in love also ...it was a special time in my life.

I saw an interesting perspective on worship the other night. We rented This Is It, the Michael Jackson documentary of the concert he was preparing for before he died. It was fascinating!

The concert he was preparing was going to be the biggest, grandest worldly concert EVER done. The main message it was going to portray was that we need to "fix the earth" and "love each other".

Michael had hired many backup singers and dancers to work with him. At one point, as he was practicing his dance moves and singing some of the songs he does by himself, they show the backup dancers down on the floor, literally WORSHIPPING Michael. They are screaming and shouting and LIFTING their HANDS to him. They just couldn't get enough of him!

I wonder if worshipping in Spirit and Truth might have something to do with the fact that all humans are made to worship, and we all are worshipping something, but it might not necessarily be in the Spirit of the Lord or the Truth of the Lord.

We have to have the correct object of our worship, which needs to be done in God's Spirit and His Truth.

Just my 2 cents.

"Nothing brings Me more joy than when you worship My Father. I went to the cross so you could worship Him through Me. Your worship when you are in the middle of troubles, touches Him even more than all the worship from heaven. If you worship without seeing this glory, in the middle of your trials, that is worship in Spirit and in truth. Don't waste your trials! You will never be stronger than when you bring Him joy, cause the joy of the Lord is your strength."

This really blessed me, Sabrina. I believe this is what the Bible refers to as the "sacrifice of praise", when we praise the Lord right in the midst of heartbreaking times. That is the ultimate expression of trust...that you're telling the Lord that in spite of the pain, the feelings of hopelessness, and the discouragement, you are trusting Him NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL to see you through.

I have gone through countless of these times in my life, and I have found that when we praise the Lord during these times when we don't know the outcome, our faith and trust in Him through praise is what pleases Him the most...and that's what moves the hand of God to work on our behalf. I've learned this from personal experience.

I hope this encourages anyone who is going through a rough time right now.

Priceless Truth, DianeC . . oh, amen, God's Redeemed are made to worship the ONE TRUE GOD. Glory to the LORD, our Eternal God has torn the veil, saying come boldly to the Throne!!! Praise Jesus, He has revealed Who we may adore!

Website: Being close

Hi Melanie! There are some places in the bible where it says to sew to the spirit and not to the flesh and to follow the spirit and not the flesh and this reminds me of that concept. I think that we need to be aware of the difference between the spirit and the flesh and to worship the Lord not in the flesh but in the spirit! Also according to His truth - which is to be sure we are worshipping Him! Just some thoughts for you. Hope you all are having a nice day!

Lisaleenie, the praise in a tough time doesn't move the hand of God, but FREES the hand of God to move on our behalf. The praise is the SUBSTANCE of FAITH that Hebrews 11:1 refers to and God can only act on our FAITH. I am sure that is what you meant, but when you said and I began thinking about it the light came on about Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the green light in our walk with God. It is the substance or solid material that God uses to work in our behalf. Thanks Lisaleenie, for sparking the engine this morning. You are awesome my friend.

What a wonderful topic to discusss!

Ya know, something the Lord told me that was so precious...

"When My children choose to come to Me for comfort, laying their head on My lap in the midst of their trials....every tear that falls upon My lap is saved in a bottle. And each one of these precious tears will become a diamond on the Day of recompense."

Wow. Our Daddy is soooooooooooooooo beyond wonderful!

Email: jakeandcharity@gmail.com

WHOOPS! Yes, Texas Sue, that is what I meant! Thank you for correcting me!

Yes, our faith does free the hand of the Lord to move in our behalf. I believe the "sacrifice of praise" says something else about the believer. It's easy to praise God when things are going our way. But praising Him when going through painful circumstances tells the Lord that we love Him more than than our own "ease, comfort, and pleasure" like Charles Stanley says. We praise Him for Who He is. That's the purest form of praise. That kind of trust shows love and faithfulness to the Lord....regardless of circumstances.

Lisaleenie, you said that so beautifully. Yes, the sacrifice of praise when we are going through tough times is a testimony to God that we know He is true, faithful and ever present with us. The way you put it reminds me of the verse about Moses in Hebrews 11 where it said that Moses endured as though seeing Him who is invisible. Leenie, I know God is pleased with your trust in Him during this hard time for you. I just feel His love for you is bursting at the seams right now.

Oh, thank you, Texas Sue!!! I appreciate that very much. I do feel the Lord's love and peace right now.

You and everyone here makes my heart . Especially the Lord. Thank You, Jesus!!

I know what you mean Lisaleenie and the Lord sees your heart is so right for Him and He knows and sees it's not easy for you. Your reward will be great in heaven for praising Him in your circumstances! While I'm typing this, He is telling me, that's right, just encourage her! Wow!

Lisaleenie, this is how much the Lord loves you

Email: jan.sabrina@pandora.be

Wow, beautiful, wise responses! Thank you! I have been thinking about this topic all day, but my little ones just won't allow me to make it to the computer today! I'll have to add more thoughts later...

Jesus, I love you.

One thing that came to mind as I was meditating on this verse today was that when Jesus was speaking with the woman at the well in John 4, they were discussing how her ancestors worshiped on the mountain. Then Jesus told her that a time is coming that the true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth, for God is spirit...

Before Jesus, mankind did not have access to the spiritual realm, I think; they had to worship God (Spirit) by all kinds of rules and regulations, formulas that God gave the Jewish people for coming near Him in a way that was pleasing in His sight. But there was a barrier- they could not access communing with God spirit to spirit. THEN CAME JESUS!! He is the access by which we can worship God in spirit- and He sent His Holy Spirit which testifies to His truth in all spiritual matters.

Jesus is the KEY! Through Him, knowing Him personally, is how we worship in spirit and in truth. For He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Oh, Sabrina, your kind, encouraging words mean so much! Thank you! You surely heard from the Lord, because I really need encouragement during this time!

Melanie, loved what you just said. Very insightful.

Love from your sister in Christ

Melanie, I believe you are right in what you are saying! This reminds me of the veil being torn in the temple when Jesus died. We do have access to God now through Jesus, with the help of His Holy Spirit who lives inside of us!!

Melanie dear Sis,

The Lord knows the heart of every man. Remember the Pharisees and priests with their long prayers in front of others etc?

When I come before my Father, I just lay it out on the line simply. He knows my heart.

When we are feeling hurt or down, our prayers may even consist of 1 word, “Father” then lots of tears. Our loving Lord knows exactly how and why we feel this way, and in this time he is ministering to our souls.

When I pray I often try and hold back the flowery Christian theological words that we all hear, and just try and pray as Paul the person. I am in front of my father, my saviour. I approach his cross on my knees, humbled and in love with him.

These are my thoughts

Love ya Sis / ybiC Paul