The Place Of Praise In Worship

Worship in the praise-and-worship tradition is based on the assumption that praise is not identical to worship. Praise is the prelude to worship, our entrance into God's presence, which is the locus of true worship. This article describes this distinction. The phrase "praise and worship" is frequently used by Christians, and yet these two words are rarely mentioned together in the Bible. Is there a distinction between praise and worship? What does it mean to praise the Lord? What place does praise have in our worship of God? Many have different answers. Webster's New World Dictionary tells us that one meaning of the verb "praise" is "to laud the glory of [God], as in song. " Hundreds of times throughout the Scriptures, particularly in the Psalms, we are exhorted to praise the Lord. In fact, the whole last segment of the book of Psalms deals with praise to God, and concludes,"Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord/Praise ye the Lord" (Psalm 150:6, kjv). Because there are s…