Dance as Worship




Dance is about passion, and movement to God. If you look up the word Dance in a Bible Dictionary you will find something like this, "Physical Expressions of feeling which cannot find voice in just gestures." Or in other words, it's the language of something so passionate that there is no other form of expression. In dance you are using everything you are to worship God. You are using your mind, body, heart, and soul. You are truly giving him everything. Everyone is different, but to me, dance is my way of truly connecting with God. When I dance, I feel like he is holding me in his arms. I feel as though he is guiding my every step and smiling back at me. When I dance, I truly feel that I can touch God. During dances both private and public I have experienced an anointing so powerful that it shook the ground where I stood. In private dances to my Lord I have felt his presence so close to me that I hid beneath the covers of my bed and there continued worship to him. I am not what most would consider a good dancer, but it is special and a deep and integral part of my worship to him. God deals with us each differently. His relationship is different with all of us. When I first began in dance Ministry, I studied dance heavily and poured over every piece of information I could get my hands on. I had absolutely no training in dance. I wanted to be as skillful as possible. Being skillful and working hard is a good thing. However, you must make sure you are doing it to bring glory to God and not to yourself. It is very easy to get caught up in constantly doing better. Dance is meant for worship. I have learned over time, that the best dances are not by professionals. They are pure of heart and intently directed towards God alone. We don't have to be the best and we do not need to be perfect. We just need to be focused on him. Dance is not about ourselves or those who may be watching, it's about God. Those who witness dance worship can be freed and delivered from things that may have them bound. The anointing and power of God can flow through the dance in ways that are unexpected and very powerful. The following study notes on Dance in worship is extensive and I will not be typing in all of the scriptures that I will be mentioning. You will need your Bible to look up most of these references as there are too many to type into this website.



Basic Scriptures



Psalm 149:3, 150:4
In these texts the word Dance is defined in the Hebrew as A sacred dance in praise of God, a circular dance, to whirl or twist.

Ecclesiastes 3:4
dance in the Hebrew was referring to dancing for joy, springing about wildly.

Luke 7:32
In this reference it is referring to dancing in a row or ring.
Luke 15:25

This reference is to a choir of dancers.

It is clear in these passages that there are many and very diverse forms and purposes for Godly dancing. None of them are meant to be overlooked. Dances are whirling, twisting, circular, joyous, spring about wildly, in rows, in rings, singly and with many dancers. Some of these dances would have to be choreograhed at times, but not always. A choir of dancers is easily referred to as a skillful group of dancers working together in one accord. These scriptures, however are just the beginning.


Deeper References



The Hebrew meaning for the word "rejoice" in these scriptures (and some others) refers to jumping for joy. This is a physical expression of emotion, which is a simple definition of dance.

Psalm 68:3,(reference in capital letters)
But let the rightious be glad; let them REJOICE before God; yea let them exceedingly rejoice.
 also 118:24

In the following references the words Joy and Rejoice have a common meaning in the Hebrew language. The definition is simply, to spin around under the influence of violent emotions.

Zepheniah 3:17(dance reference in capital Letters)
The Lord they God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;he will rest in his love, je will JOY over us with singing.

In this scriptures it states that God actually dances over us. This is a very powerful scripture when we think about it's meaning.

Zecheriah 9:9,
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold they King cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
 this is part of a prophetic scriptural passage concerning the coming of Jesus Christ and commands the daughters to dance and shout for the coming Messiah!

These scriptures also have this dance reference.
Zecheriah 10:7, Isaiah 9:3, Isaih 29:19, Isaiah 41:16, Proverbs 23:24,25, Psalm 35:9, Psalm 9:14, Psalm 14:7, Psalm 21:1, Psalm 51:8, Psalm 89:16, Isaiah 49:13, Isaiah 61:10, Isaiah 35:1,2, Psalm 97:1

In the following passages the greek word for Rejoice is translated in the New Testament as jumping for Joy
John:5:35,
He was a burning and shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
 These words are from Jesus himself and was in reference to John the Baptist and his ministry.

Acts 16:34,
And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced believing in God with all his house.
 This passage is pertaining to serving Paul and Silas. It was the night that they spent in prison as they were singing and worshipping God and the prison doors were miraculously opened. The keeper on the prison believed on the Lord on this night and was celebrating.

Also Read John 8:56, Luke 1:47, I Peter 1:6,8, Revelation 19:7



I will not tell you what to believe, but I will show you the scriptural references and challenge you to look for yourself. This is what the word of God clearly states concerning the Dance. The language used throughout the Bible shows that it was a common and customary practice to dance and sing in worship. It was an every day occurence and a well loved form of worship. The dance belonged to God long before satan perverted it. What we have in Christ is not the same as what the world has and they should not be compared. There is no need to combine wordly forms of dance with Godly forms. Our focus needs to be on God and our dances need to be expressions of our adoration to God and not on our skills. God is not impressed with skill and ability but he loves passion and worship from the Heart. We should always do things in excellence unto God and give him our best, but we must never be ashamed to give God glory and worship him in ways that are natural to us. If you have a desire to dance, then you MUST dance. You should talk with other dancers and prayerfully consider what God would have you to do and how he would have you to do it. He works with all of us individually and no two dancers will ever be exactly alike. You should be what God has called you to be.



If you have questions about scriptural references for these Ministries, please email admin@heartofchristrestored.com and we will be happy to assist you. We also encourage you to submit your poetry, experiences and photos in Flag and Dance, artistic photography, paintings, song lyrics that have touched your heart, anything that you would like to share. To submit your work for consideration please email us at Submissions@heartofchristrestored.com


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