Obedience according to the Sage Dictionary is the act of obeying, dutiful or submissive with respect to someone else. It is a characteristic that we have to learn on our own, someone said God is always talking what He is looking for is just a willing life to listen and do.
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams", 1Samuel 15:22. God basically states that he is pleased by just listening and doing his bidding as and when He requires us.
The principle of First Mention explains the word in question and the first time the word Worship was used in scriptures was in Genesis 22:15 "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you" the word "worship" in this verse spoke of SACRIFICE and OBEDIENCE and not music or dancing or anything we nowadays call worship. Worship to Abraham was just beyond words it was obedience and his obedience brought him to sacrifice Isaac and if Abraham was given a chance he would have sacrificed Isaac.
People like Moses, Abraham, Gideon, Elijah and Jehoshaphat lived normal where normal people but their lives but what made them different was their obedience. It was not easy for them to live as such but their lives required sacrificing work, family and their futures. God turned their obedience into instruments of his glory.
It was not easy for people like Hosea to marry a prostitute and have children with her and even running back after her when she abandons him. It wasn't easy for Jeremiah to leave a solitary life and not be allowed to attend a party or a funeral. It wasn't easy for a man like Paul to endure all the suffering he faced and still cling on to Jesus, God was glorified by their obedience.
The point is simply that you are no different from Moses or Elijah and as a worshipper that which shall set you apart is simply is obedience. It's a small issue to a lot of people and to God its core for a worshipper to be obedient with Him.
Gideon's life was turned upside down overnight literary because of obedience to God.
Obedience is not something that you pray for its something you pay for using your time and throwing your will away for His. What the scripture in 1Samuel talks about is that obedience is simply worship on its own, obeying God always will always bring glory to God no matter where you are and regardless of what He asks you to do.
He will start with the small things in life, some of us start praying God let me be obedient to the Spirit of God just as we get to church on Sunday and go straight to lead worship but the whole week we have been looking to the side whenever God required our obedience. Obedience alone is worship do not forget that.
Whether you are a worship leader, an ordinary choir member or just a loud or quiet worshipper who is vocally challenged, we need to learn to listen to God and obey His spirit is we can obey the Spirit within the week it won be difficult to obey the spirit when he changes your song list during Sunday or skips worship and shows up early on Sunday that you don't sing or preach. Obedience alone is worship to God.
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