"Shachah" - Hebrew for depress, bow, crouch, fall down, humbly beseech
"Proskuneo" - Greek for falling down to kiss the ground before kings feet, paying homage
"Sebonai" - Greek for reverence hold in awe
"Latreuo" - render religious service homage
These are a few words translated from Greek and Hebrew to define worship. Worship in the old English language means "worth-ship" meaning to acknowledge the worth of someone. For Christians it means to acknowledge the worth of God.
Old Testament
In OT, the Israelites worshiped the Lord by paying homage and devotion whereby it takes place at certain time and place. Performing rituals and sacrifice for repentance and seeking God through the ark. Below are some examples.
Psalm 138:2 - In temple ; 2 King 18:22, Isaiah 36:7 - Acts of worship at altar
Jeremiah - At the gate
Leviticus 1, 16:20, - Burnt offerings, scapegoat,, unblemish lambs etc
These type of worship tended to lead to legalism where people tend to be sidetracked by rituals of worship and miss the true essence of humility before God, most evident with Pharisee and Sadducees in OT/NT. It was a matter of lip service (Matthew 15:8, 9; Isaiah 29:13), they had exchange truth for tradition, it could be said they worship the worship more than God.
The type of worship God really wanted was a broken and contrite heart as David writes in Psalm 51:7 whereby Worshiping in practice is a lifestyle of brokenness before God. We present ourselves as living sacrifice (Roman 12:1,2). It's not to say, worship should not be separated from service as everything we do should be for Gods glory (Phil 4:18) and in our everyday life (Roman 14:8).
New Testament
Worship in NT (John 4:7-26) is to worship in the right attitude but there is more to it, there is no longer special place or time to worship God as God is spirit and is omnipresent. It no longer is outward worship but a spirit-to-spirit devotion to God. Hence speaking in tongues (Holy Spirits language), where our spirits pray while our mouth speak. We worship God from our spirits but there is always outward response. Worship in truth is sincerity and doctrinal truth. We speak truth and live by the Spirit of God in our daily lives, through doing mundane things to making important decision. We ask God for guidance, counsel and help through his word and prayer. Making God the center of our life.
John 4:23-24 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
This is the highest form of worship that God intended and purposes made us to be.
