From Glory to Glory: The Trans[Formative] Power of Worship

Worship transforms us – from glory to glory. We all worship something, and we inevitably become like the object of our worship. Psychologist Jordan B Peterson has recognized that the “instinct” to worship is part of the natural injunction to imitate that which we find most valuable. That which we judge to be most beautiful, virtuous, worthwhile and glorious becomes the thing to which we give our allegiance, our affection, our adoration and our attention. And rightfully so, as long as our judgment is correct and our worship is pointed towards that which is truly worthy of it.

When I say “worship” here, I’m obviously not just speaking about the singing portion of a church service, which is the activity that most evangelicals would associate with that word. Worship in a broad sense is a lifestyle or a “way of life” — a life oriented around the object of worship. The term worship is used more specifically, biblically and culturally, to describe gathered times of religious activity. In modern Christianity, we have more narrowly defined “worship” as the musical portion of our church gatherings (rather than the entire church service). This is actually not a bad thing, although the more appropriate biblical term for this musical activity would be “praise.”

One of the points I make in my book David’s Tabernacle: How God’s Presence Changes Everything is that corporate praise and worship is transformative. David’s model of worship was a “new covenant” model of worship that was ahead of its time. It was based on the heavenly liturgy that we see in Revelation 4-5, and when communities embrace “Davidic worship” (which is what Christian communities should do) they begin to experience a greater manifestation of heaven on earth. This idea is summed up in the phrase from David in Psalm 22:3 that God “inhabits” or is “enthroned” in the praises of His people. When we praise God, He manifests His presence. And God’s presence changes everything.

The New Testament promises that as we “behold” Jesus (presumably through worship and prayer) that we will be transformed “from glory to glory” into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). We can be assured that time in the presence of Jesus makes us more like Jesus. But how exactly does this work? And how long does it take?

Throughout my journey of life and ministry, I’ve become increasingly convinced of the power of God’s presence to change lives, cities and nations. However, I’ve noticed various paces at which that transformation happens. Sometimes transformation is fast and sometimes it’s slow. I was not able to articulate these two processes or speeds of transformation in my book, but I’d like to begin to tease them out here.

Miracles and Transformation

Sometimes, as God manifests His presence among His people, there is quick and notable transformation and breakthrough. Someone puts their faith in Christ. A body is instantaneously healed. Someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit and starts speaking in tongues. A relationship is reconciled. A depressed person finds joy and is free from that moment on. An addiction is broken. Scars disappear. I have seen many miracles like these happen over the years, and I rejoice! I spent much of my book emphasizing these radical and quick breakthroughs that happen as a result of praise, worship and prayer.

However, sometimes the process is much slower. I’ve been to hundreds of worship gatherings and prayer meetings where there was no dramatic story or testimony. I’ve prayed many, many times for healing and it didn’t come. Where is God in those moments? 

I believe God’s presence changes everything, but that sometimes it happens slowly.

I believe God’s presence changes everything, but that sometimes it happens slowly.

Those who find themselves in the charismatic stream of Christianity love to push for the miracles, instantaneous healings, radical testimonies and breakthrough TODAY. We are “kingdom now” people. Me too! God can change everything in one moment in His presence. I long for more of these moments, and I will keep pursuing them in my life and ministry.

But the danger in only seeking the quick breakthrough is that we can sometimes miss the slow breakthrough God wants to bring through the process of formation. If we don’t realize that sometimes God changes us more slowly than we want, then we may become disillusioned. We may begin to believe the lie that God’s presence doesn’t change everything. If we sing and sing, and we’re still sick, does God’s presence change everything? If we pray and pray, but our loved one is still far from Jesus, does prayer really work? If I go to church every week, or go sit in a prayer room, and nothing seems to happen, am I wasting my time?

The answer is no. It’s not a waste. Prayer does work. And God’s presence does change everything. But sometimes it takes time.

Slow, Formative Worship

In the title of this article I put brackets around the word “formative” inside the word “transformative.” I want to use these two words to help make my point.

I will use “transformative” to describe the quicker, more dramatic stories of change like I described earlier. I will use the word “formative” to describe a slower process of change that occurs as we’re faithful in worship, prayer and serving God over the course of time. I’ve spent a lot of time in my book and other places championing the “transformative” power of worship, so I want to focus the rest of this article on the “formative” power of worship. My hope is that this will encourage you to stay steady in the place of God’s presence — in corporate worship and prayer — even when it seems like nothing is happening. We don’t want to give up the pursuit of the quick moments of transformation, but we also want to sign up for the lifelong journey of slow formation into the image of Christ.

We must think of our times of worship not just as an opportunity for ecstatic encounter but a place of spiritual formation. Glenn Packiam, a pastor at New Life Church in Colorado, has been steeped in charismatic Christianity, but is recognizing the formative power of worship. Here’s a quote from his book Discover the Mystery of Faith: How Worship Shapes Believing.

“If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent most of your life thinking of prayer and worship as an expression of the faith that is in our hearts. There is certainly something true about that. Our prayers and our worship do, indeed, reflect the faith in our hearts. It is an overflow of it. But in another sense—perhaps a larger sense—prayer and worship form our faith. Worship doesn’t just reflect our faith; it is what shapes our faith.”

Glenn Packiam

We charismatics can glean much from our brothers and sisters in liturgical churches about the value of formation. The idea that worship (what they would call “liturgy”) forms us and shapes us is at the core of why they put such emphasis on the liturgy. They recognize that the details of what we do when the Church gathers together has a profound impact on the soul of the worshiper. By the way, charismatics and evangelicals have their own “liturgy”, even if they don’t use that word. Every local church has their own order of service, traditions, cultures, tendencies, musical styles, decor, etc. Each element of our times of corporate worship affects us, whether we call it “liturgy” or not.

This idea that God is present in liturgy has been a part of Christianity from the beginning. Here’s one of the early church fathers:

“Following His Ascension, the Lord sits with his Heavenly Father in the heavens and at the same time, He is present with the faithful Christians in the Divine Liturgy… His Presence fills the earth… and the heavens! Thus, together with Christ, the Christian who is in the Church and communes is at the same time on earth and in heaven.”

St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407 AD)

A number of charismatic leaders are beginning to embrace this reality and recognize the need for adopting some practices of “liturgical” churches without forsaking the biblical charismatic practices such as the gifts of the Spirit and passionate singing. Pastor and theologian Andrew Wilson has called for “Eucharismatic Worship” where we view worship as both a place of supernatural encounter and a place of formation around liturgical practices such as the eucharist (communion or the Lord’s supper).

Whether we feel it or not, things are happening as we worship. When we sing, pray, hear a sermon, take communion, lay hands on one another, share a prophetic word, recite a creed… God is manifesting His presence and forming us. We are being fed, impacted and shaped — little by little, from glory to glory — to be more like Jesus.

Over the years, I have noticed a clear trend from those who have been involved in our parachurch ministries. Those who were rooted in solid, biblical, spirit-filled churches were far more likely to stay true to Christ. We had many people get involved in our prayer rooms and Burn events over the years who would not commit to a local church (despite our encouragement). Most of them who were churchless have now turned away from Christianity completely. Whether we realize it or not, our involvement in local church and regular (even “boring”) worship is helping us. I once heard Rick Joyner say that he only remembered a few meals that he had eaten over the years, but that each meal had been a part of keeping him alive. He said reading the Bible was the same way. We may only have a few memorable and dramatic encounters with God, and that is ok. We may not have a profound revelation or a supernatural encounter every time we read the Bible, pray, or gather for worship, but each one of these activities is “feeding” our souls and sustaining our spiritual lives. We have to stay steady.

A quick side note to leaders. If this is true — if worship shapes our beliefs and lives — then pastors, ministry leaders and worship leaders should probably give even more care and attention to their “liturgy.” Our church gatherings, facilities, order of service and worship times should be biblical (while gleaning from historic Christianity) so that we are formed biblically. It’s natural for our culture to impact our expression of worship. For example, we preach and sing in our culture’s language, dress in a culturally relevant way and use musical styles that are present in our culture. However, we want to make sure the “liturgy” that’s forming us is a biblical worship expressing itself through our culture , not just an expression of the secular culture’s values labeled as “worship”. The Church should provide counter-culture liturgies with “otherworldly” values and activities. Church isn’t just a place to come hear the information of the Gospel, it is a place for people to encounter God and be transformed in His presence by His word and His Spirit.

The Liturgy of Houses of Prayer

Thankfully, I have experienced a value for long-term formation in the house of prayer movement. While some in the charismatic world focus impatiently on the need to always get an immediate breakthrough (fueled by unbiblical prosperity teaching), I’ve found that those from places like IHOP-KC have carried a high value for the slow transformation that occurs through regular, biblical (dare I say, liturgical?) worship & prayer. I’ve heard Mike Bickle, the founder of IHOP-KC, say that we should judge the impact of our intercession by decades. Pray for ten years, then look back and see if it seems to be making a difference. It reminds me of Jonathan Edwards’ call to prayer, which encouraged leaders to gather in corporate prayer for seven years before evaluating if they should keep going. This is an entirely different approach to pursuing transformation than urging people to come down to the altar to get your “breakthrough” (and then many times they go home unchanged). Again, God can change people profoundly in a moment, but those moments don’t usually happen every week.

Those familiar with IHOP-KC have probably heard of the “Harp & Bowl” model used in their 24/7 prayer room. It focuses on singing and praying through Scripture. Without a doubt, Harp & Bowl is a valuable and effective “liturgy” of the prayer movement. And the liturgy of Harp & Bowl gives intercessors and worshipers (especially the staff who are sitting in the prayer room for hours each day) a way to stay engaged in prayer, worship and Scripture, even when they don’t feel inspired.

Christian Philosopher James K A Smith has also argued extensively that our liturgy forms and shapes us. In his book You Are What You Love (pg.83-84) he says: 

“[God] invites us into a different embodied liturgy that not only is suffused by the biblical story but also, via those practices, inscribes the story into our hearts as erotic calibration, bending the needle of our loves towards Christ, our magnetic north. The Scriptures seep into us in a unique way in the intentional, communal rituals of worship… the Word is caught more than taught.”

James K A Smith

This is actually a great description of what I have seen happen in prayer rooms that pray and sing the Bible (such as those that use Harp & Bowl). God’s word “seeps” into those who sing it and pray it. We “catch” the truth of God’s word, not just in our minds but in our hearts. Scripture goes from giving information to causing trans[formation]. From my perspective, some of the most humble, anointed and biblical preachers and teachers of recent years have been those who have come out of houses of prayer after spending years or decades doing the “liturgy” of Harp & Bowl in hiddenness before God. It seems to me that the liturgy is working successfully to “form” and “shape” some of the most godly messengers in this generation.

One of those teachers is Samuel Whitefield, a teacher at IHOP’s University, wrote a book called “Discipleship Begins with Beholding”, which argues that “Discipleship begins with the people of God corporately beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus.” The primary Scripture he builds from is 2 Corinthians 3:18, which I mentioned earlier. It promises transformation “from glory to “glory” as we gaze upon Christ. The term “discipleship” is helpful in this conversation, because it implies a process. It sets an expectation that our transformation and breakthrough will be connected to a slow, deliberate, and life-long pursuit of Jesus. 

God’s presence changes everything. Whether it be a quick transformation or the slow process of formation, we become what we behold. And because our transformation is connected to our beholding of Jesus, the ultimate breakthrough and transformation will come when Christ returns. Paul says that “now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. “ (I Corinthians 13:12). John promises that “when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2). Because we see “dimly”, our trans[formation] tends to be slow. By God’s grace, we can sometimes experience miracles and instantaneous manifestations of God’s kingdom in our lives. But we also know that there is a sense in which the kingdom of God is yet to come. Until Jesus returns, we are only experiencing a “foretaste of glory divine.” And when Christ comes again, we will finally go from glory to ultimate glory.