But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

John 4:23-24 (NKJV)

Worship is not begging God to like you or attempting to earn His favour.

Jesus tells us that God is looking for true worshippers. In the context of this verse, the Greek scholar Joseph Thayer defines "true" as "that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true and genuine." In other words, God desires genuine worshippers who truly yearn and yield to Him, knowing that only He can truly and fully satisfy their hearts' longings.

Worship is rooted in God and no one else. Worship is discovering, again and again, the nature and character of our Father. It is to focus on Him again and again with new covenant eyes and be amazed by His wondrous love and kindness. Knowing God reveals your identity (who you really are), your purpose (what you were made to do), your passion (enjoying what you do) and energy (excelling at what you do).

A true worshipper worships God in spirit and truth.

True worship in spirit and truth paves the way for a spiritually fulfilling and healthy life. If you worship primarily because of certain feelings or moods, your worship is contingent on how you feel rather than who God is. This attitude towards worship is self-idolatry.

Worship transcends public displays of music and singing to a personal relationship marked by genuine intimacy and deep affection. This yearning for and yielding to the Father empowers you to learn and live as His son or daughter. Worship becomes more natural to us as we recognise God's worth and are drawn to Him. Because of this, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that worship is a vocation and not a location, and that it is an invitation from God into a loving and perfect relationship with Him.

Nothing else compares to the experience of true worship.