Saying that worship is not about us does not mean that our desires have no place in it. Does God want obedience without affection, or reverence without joy? In Part 1, we explored how worship is not a product of our feelings but a response to the holiness of God. Scripture does not present worship as a cold act of obedience detached from affection. God is worthy of worship regardless of how we feel, and yet He invites us to love, delight in, and enjoy Him.

God has created us as relational beings, made for communion not only with one another, but personally with Him as well. When we love someone deeply, their presence matters to us; we want them to be whole and fulfilled, living fully into who they were created to be.

In the same way, a desire to please God and to worship Him grows as we begin to grasp both His holiness and His love. That desire is not always steady or pure. We are still fleshly people, often divided within ourselves, wanting one thing and doing another. Yet even that tension does not disqualify us from worship; it reveals our need for a God who is both worthy and gracious.

Desire in worship is not something we create through effort or emotion; it is something God forms in us over time. We do not work ourselves into affection for God by trying harder to feel something. Instead, desire grows as we get closer to Him—as we seek, listen, obey, and keep returning again and again. Much like any relationship, affection deepens through shared time, growing understanding, and repeated acts of love rather than through pressure.

This understanding of desire is not new; many Christians throughout history have wrestled with how delight, obedience, and worship belong together. John Piper explores this idea in Desiring God, where he writes that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him alone.

This kind of satisfaction starts by seeking Him, obeying Him, listening for Him, and then responding to Him. But how can we enjoy Him if we haven’t experienced Him? Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century American preacher and philosopher, said you can know honey in two distinct ways: you can know the exact chemical makeup of honey; or you can taste it. Both are ways to know honey, but only the latter is the knowledge by which honey is experienced.

Worship grows deeper as God moves from an idea we understand to a reality we know. It is one thing to hold correct beliefs about who God is; it is another to encounter Him personally and be shaped by that encounter. Scripture consistently points us toward this kind of knowing—not merely information about God, but lived awareness of His character, His faithfulness, and His nearness. As that knowing grows, desire follows. Not perfectly or instantly, but genuinely.

In James 2:19, James is talking about the fact that faith without good deeds is dead. He writes, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” I would guess that demons have a lot of knowledge about God, the universe, and especially the spiritual realm. But factual knowledge like that doesn’t save. Factual knowledge like this just gets you a good grade on an exam at school.

Saving knowledge grows out of experiencing God and finding our satisfaction in Him. As we come to know Him, we are shaped by that knowing. When we worship God, we are transformed by the encounter; and when we encounter God, we are drawn to worship in response. We worship a God who is both holy and loving. He is the Creator of the universe and the lover of our souls—immensely powerful, yet deeply personal.

Worship, then, is not fueled by emotional intensity or sustained by sheer willpower. It grows as we come to know God not only as holy and worthy, but as gracious and near. As that knowing deepens, desire follows. It may not come quickly, but it will be authentic. Over time, worship becomes less about what we can produce and more about what God is forming within us. And it is here, in this growing, lived relationship with God, that we begin to see why worship cannot be reduced to outward actions alone; it must rise from within.