What is the difference between praise and worship?
Answer
All praise is worship, but worship may be more than praise. Worship is defined as reverence to another, usually a divine being. While we show reverence or respect by praising God, we may show that respect in other ways. We may do so in prayer, by acknowledging that God is superior to us and able to answer prayer. We may do so by teaching about God, showing that we consider him worthy of the respect of other people as well. We may even worship in our good works and giving of money, by acknowledging that everything we have came from God and is not our own.
Some scriptures place serving gods together with worship. “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.” (Deuteronomy 11:16) Others equate sacrifice with worship. “But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.” (2 Kings 17:36)
Anything we do that brings glory to God (which should be everything we do) can be considered worship. Anything that shows that God has worth or value in our sight is worship. In fact, the word comes from the word “worthship,” or the condition of having value.
(Also see my article, Give Me My Props.