Approaching Jesus through worship and praise, through verbal and physical expression of lifting of hands in obedience to Jesus’ commands concerning worship, is not a striving necessarily emotional outburst of our person. Rather, it is a restful first step of obedience through physical expression of openness to Jesus and His will for our lives in the matter being sought.

Since the heart and will of man are synonymous, when we will to lift up our hands in obedience to Jesus, we are actually turning our hearts to Jesus since it is our hearts or will that lifts our hands. Lifting of hands, then, is a physical expression of surrender of one’s will, the heart of man, to Jesus’ will, the heart of Jesus.

Second, when we worship God, Jesus says we are to worship God in Spirit and truth. Jesus states,

"But 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. God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24).

Paul states, "For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." (Phil 3:3).

What does it mean to worship in Spirit and truth? First of all, it is important to know and understand that when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord the Holy Spirit comes immediately to live in our belly and become one spirit with our spirit. Paul says in the book of Ephesians,

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph 1:13-14).

And again in 1 Corinthians 6:17, "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." Jesus states in the Gospel of John,

"If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." (John 7:37-39)

Second, as has been shared earlier, worshiping God in Spirit and truth means that we receive Jesus’ will and plan for our life and His answer to our needs in relation to ourselves, Jesus, and others through our spirit in union with Jesus’ Holy Spirit. Paul states,

"But just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." (1 Cor 2:9-10).

Paul tells us that God’s answer to our needs does not come through our hearts, our souls, but through our spirits. As Paul said earlier in the book of Philippians, His confidence was not in his education or his flesh, but in Jesus alone to minister the answer he needed through the Holy Spirit. (Phil 3:3).

This is not referring to physical laws, such as trying to defy gravity by jumping off a building; or to what is already clearly revealed in Scripture such as the command against committing adultery and then rationalizing one’s way around this by saying he had some spiritual experience which said it is okay now.²⁹ The Apostle Paul states in the book of Galatians, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. (Gal 6:7). But when it comes to our relationship to God, ourselves, and to others; since we cannot know Jesus’ heart, our heart truly, and man’s heart apart from Jesus, the only way we can get the answers to hidden heart issues in these three areas is through Jesus ministering it to our spirit through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul states,

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." (1 Cor 2:11).

As was mentioned earlier, the prophet Jeremiah said that the heart of man is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. It is not possible for us to know our own hearts truly, let alone someone else’s, apart from the Spirit of God. The Lord goes on to say through Jeremiah in this same passage of Scripture, I, Yehovah, search the heart, I test the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. (Jer 17:10).

The key to success in ministry, whether it is related to Evangelism, follow-up, counseling, or praying for a mental, physical, spiritual, or demonic problem, is getting to the root of the matter; the true heart of the matter. This is why we are not qualified to judge situations, which involve people, as they appear outwardly. Jesus said, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. (John 7:24). The Apostle Paul put it this way,

"Therefore do not go on judging anything before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God." (1 Cor 4:5).

This is exactly the way that Jesus operated in ministry as a man on earth and still does in heaven. When He came face to face with a situation, no matter how obviously good or bad it appeared on the surface, He waited for the evaluation of the Father, ministered to Him through the person of the Holy Spirit inside His Human spirit.

This is also why the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day always misjudged his actions and associations with certain questionable people. The Scribes and Pharisees were looking at things as they appeared outwardly. They were not discerning Jesus’ actions and associations with people by the Spirit. Had they discerned Jesus’ actions by the Spirit, they would not have condemned him, but instead supported Him whether they fully understood or not. Jesus said if a man’s heart is truly open to the Spirit of God through his spirit, he would know whether a teaching is from God or not. Jesus said, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself" (John 7:17).

Remember our earlier example about Samuel picking a king? Samuel judged by outward appearance, but God judged by what he saw in the heart. Jesus does not judge us by what He sees outwardly, but by what He sees in our heart. This is why a lot of times when we view someone in ministry from his outward appearance he does not seem fit for the job, but God looks at the heart and sees that his heart is right for the job.

In order to worship God in Spirit and truth we must know the true root and heart of the situation encountered and what Jesus’ will and heart are to be able to pray in truth concerning the situation.