The Hebrew term for worship is shachah. Its basic meaning is to prostrate oneself, in homage or respect, to bow down before, to crouch or fall down flat, to humbly beseech. The Greek term, proskuneo, means essentially the same thing. Here are the definitions from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:
7812. hDjÎv shachah, shaw-khaw´; a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God): —bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.
4352. proskune÷w proskuneo, pros-koo-neh´-o; from 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): — worship.
There are many things one can 'worship'. (Money, cars, houses, jobs, power, idols, false gods etc.,etc). The list is endless. One can also worship other people. But for one who claims to believe in YAHWEH there is to be only one deserving object of your worship, YAHWEH Himself. Nothing else is permitted by, His own Word!
Worship, in modern Judeo-Christian understanding, has become mightily confused today. Somehow 'worship' has come to mean going to a worship service of some kind, usually in a specific place and at a specific time. This is really "religion", not worship. And this is far from the Scriptural view. True worship is an attitude of the heart toward YAHWEH. It is not confined to a time and a place, nor can it be.
The Word of YAHWEH declares, "YAHWEH is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4.24
If you never worship YAHWEH in your heart, in spirit, right where you are at any given moment in time, you are not really worshipping. You can never really worship YAHWEH at a contrived "worship service"; for such worship is contrived. It's artificial and less than genuine. It's a practicing of "religion". If what you're doing is not done "in spirit and in truth", it's not what YAHWEH Himself considers to be worship.
So why do people seem to need a place and a time to'worship YAHWEH? It is as if they're trying to force themselves to do what they know intuitively they ought to do on their own. Yet it's just following a tradition of men all too often - the very thing YAHUSHUA spoke strongly about to the religious leaders of His day. And they were the ones who had Him put to death as a result of his criticism of their practices.
Much of what passes for worship today is little more than an association of individuals trying to prove to each other that they are spiritual' or some other acceptable quality. It becomes merely a crutch to hold up an otherwise broken spirit that has no ability to stand on its own before YAHWEH, acknowledging its brokenness and seeking His healing.
There is merit in gathering with others who truly seek to worship YAHWEH - from their heart, from their spirit, and in truth. Yet the most profound experiences of true worship, as revealed in Scripture, are typically individual rather than corporate. Moses at the burning bush, Abraham at the sacrifice of Isaac, Jonah in the belly of the whale, Stephen when he is being stoned, Jacob in his struggle with YAHWEH, Isaac with his head upon a rock - these are the times of worship that seem acceptable to YAHWEH.
The gatherings of the organized churches of today are times of singing, praying, and listening to sermons. But these are far too often completely devoid of seeking YAHWEH in spirit and in truth. They are times of gathering out of habit, out of tradition, rather than pure worship. Even the times of YAHUSHUA (Jesus) teaching in the Synagogues don't present themselves as times of worshipping YAHWEH. Instead they appear as times of learning about YAHWEH, and hearing His Word and its revealed truth, as times of teaching, rather than as times of worship.
Most importantly, many so-called worship services today are totally devoid of the name of YAHWEH. Most church-going folks have never heard His personal name proclaimed at a worship service, or ever seen it in their bibles. For more on this you'll want to read The Personal Name of God. and some of the other articles listed at the right of the page.
Do you find in Scripture stories which provide evidence of true worship within the context of a group setting? How often? Where are they? Check it out for yourself and write them down on a list. Then write down all the religious gatherings that serve some other purpose, and note the purpose involved.
Corporate gatherings are often seen as times of fellowship, or prayer, or sharing a meal together in Scripture, but rarely as times of true worship. Some of them were intended to be times and acts of worship - but the Word of YAHWEH plainly speaks of the meaninglessness of sacrifices and offerings as acts of worship. Instead it speaks of acts of humility, compassion, mercy, forgiveness - acts of agape love - as being the true form of worship. Those things are more pleasing to YAHWEH than all the ritual acts of religious people.
So why do we, today, have so many'worship services that are devoid of true worship? Why do we have so much activity on Sundays, or sabbath days, that is lacking in the true function and purpose of worship? Is it because we've failed to rightly divide The Word of YAHWEH, and act accordingly?