Many times we have discussed Isaiah 6 in reference to worship and how, when we get a glimpse of who God truly is . . . our response is confession or repentance. I find that occasionally music is used in a corporate time of worship to give me a bigger than average glimpse of who He is.
In those experiences God comes near and seemingly engulfs me with His holiness and His presence in a way that makes me want to bow down before Him. Our hearts are open to Him, all our desires are known by Him, there are no secrets hidden from Him. So in His perfect love we come before Him asking Him to cleanse all our thoughts, our desires, our neglect; laying ourselves open to Him. Worship isn't a place for us to hide from Him; it is a place to be found by Him. Worship is not to desensitize us to reality; rather it is a place for us to take an honest look at ourselves in the light of the Father. When we draw near to God, we have nothing to fear except our own denial and resistance to His perfect holy love.
Tozer says that worship involves "a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder." It is a delight to worship God, but it is also a very humbling experience. Anyone who has not been humbled in the presence of God will never truly be a worshipper of God. As we look through Scripture we find that worship is always intertwined with humility.
Jesus said it well, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Lk. 18:14). It is a lot easier for us to be impressed with our God when we are not so impressed with ourselves and our own contrived sense of righteousness. Being in awe of God works hand in hand with being realistic about our "falling short."
We need to dare to draw near. But when we do draw near in worship, the first and oft repeated step is repentance. Intimacy with God has to do with our faithfulness of having no other gods. Without obedience and repentance we will never experience true intimacy with Him. This intimacy will bring to us a deep, interactive, abiding life with God. In the resulting love and acceptance by God - we will worship! mjm