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Art is For Your Heart Dancing

Why You Should Dance…Before the Lord

Why did King David, the man after God’s own heart, dance before the Lord? While some Christians may excuse it as the quirks of an eccentric leader, the truth is that he is a model for all worshipers of God. While this may make some believers uncomfortable, we must always go back to examining what Scripture clearly states rather than sticking to our cultural preferences. Dancing is one of the oldest arts that continues in our culture today. From ballet and ballroom dancing, and from folk dancing to hip hop, there are endless creative expressions in dance. Christians should enjoy and celebrate this art form.

What we see clearly in Scripture is that the verses calling us to dance are not only given to the priests, or to a particular class, but to all worshipers. Psalm 149 reads, “Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!” Yes, that’s right – dancing, and playing percussion instruments are commended by God’s Holy Scriptures. If you grew up in charismatic circles, as I did, this may not surprise you at all, but if you grew up in something like the old Presbyterian circles, I’m probably stretching your comfort levels. That’s intentional, and Biblical.

You’re welcome.

Research on Benefits of Dancing

Recent research confirms what Scripture has promoted. We should all be dancing, if we know what is good for us. Studies in numerous universities in recent decades have confirmed what dancers have known all along. Not only is it good exercise, but it promotes mental health, and lifts our spirits. If we take time to read the research, we just might begin to understand why King David, the man after God’s own heart, danced before the Lord.

According to Harvard Medical School, dancing is so beneficial to our health, that it is being used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease (a progressive neurological movement disorder). Scientists are demonstrating that dance provides more than just the benefits of exercise. There is something uniquely beneficial in dancing.

In 2003 the New England Journal of Medicine published research from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, demonstrating dance decidedly improves brain health.

North Dakota’s Minot State University did similar research in 2012, demonstrating that Zumba dancing improves mood and cognitive skills such as visual recognition and decision-making.

Dancing has also been shown to reduce stress, and increase the levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin. Medical researchers are helping us understand how it helps us to develop new neural connections in brain regions related to executive function, and long-term memory, as well as spatial and pattern recognition. This means that our bodily health and mental health, as people made in the Image of God, is improved by dance. Clearly this is by design, and that is why it is also expected of God’s people.

To Dance is To Be Human

Children do it intuitively when they hear a good beat. I remember my son dancing to Herbie Hancock tunes when he was a few years old. No one told him to dance. It was a natural response. We all recognize the instinctive desire to move our bodies to melodies and rhythms. Too many of us change as we grow old and succumb to being overly self-conscious. It would be helpful to remember the famous quote of Picasso:

“Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

In the same fashion, I would ask you to consider that, “Every child loves to dance. The problem is how to remain free to enjoy dancing and the physicality of our bodies as we grow up.” Too many of us have been ashamed of our lack of rhythm or style, and we are more afraid of what others would think than considering what benefits might come from physical dance and bodily expression in our worship. So we retreat, play it safe, and never realize we may be missing something. Our mental health and spiritual health may both be suffering.

Dancing in the Bible

Dancing was commended in celebration of God’s goodness and redemption. Israelites were praising God with their voices, and with prayers, as well as with dancing. Consider the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.
Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

– Jeremiah 31:12-13 (ESV)

Dancing was promoted in the context of worship:

Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
– Psalm 149:1-3 (ESV)

In God’s word, dancing is celebrated, not forbidden or condemned, as some denominations have infamously claimed. I will spare you the countless jokes about Baptists and dancing (some of them are pretty good). We may need distinctions about the kinds of dance Israelites participated in, but we cannot take Scripture seriously, and dismiss the role of dancing in Israelite culture and worship.

A Different Kind of Dance

To be clear, dancing in the Old Testament was typically a kind of folk dancing. It was not sexual gyrating or performance art. The point of the dance was not to bring attention to yourself, but to celebrate this life God has given you, with all of your body and soul.

It is often helpful to take a moment to think it through. God has blessed us with physical bodies, which we already use in worship of God, and celebration of the life He has given us. Some people only use their lips, others raise their hands (also Biblical), others start to sway back and forth to the music, while still others move the point of calling it “dance.”

If we were in Ancient Israel, we would be singing songs to God, and dancing together while we sing. We would know that God isn’t grading our dance ability any more than He does our vocal performance on Sunday mornings.

If God is blessed when we “make a joyful noise” (Psalm 100), then our imperfect dancing is not a problem. We are not trying out for Dancing with the Stars. We are simply using all of our corporeal body to enter into worship. We know that God cares about the heart, not the performance. That is where it is the opposite of most dances today. In the folk dancing of Israel and other cultures, everyone was welcome. The point was that we celebrate together, not focusing on individual ability.

King David’s Dancing and a Warning

We have all heard the famous passage where David danced before the Lord. But why was he dancing? David danced when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to Israel (2 Sam 6). He was so overjoyed to see the Ark return to the house of God, and so overjoyed to see God’s name kept holy that he could not contain his excitement. Not everyone was equally pleased.

David’s wife, Michal, was ashamed because she claimed that David’s dancing was not ‘dignified’ and did not fit what she considered, proper etiquette. But she missed the very point. She missed the overwhelming joy David experienced, and the overwhelming desire David had to praise God with not only his lips, or by raising his hands, but by using his whole body to dance before the Lord. For David, in that moment, nothing less would do. He cared more about worshiping God with his whole body, than the opinions of others.

When in doubt, we can read the context in Scripture. And Scripture is clear: David’s actions are recognized as good. Michal’s criticism is condemned. The result is severe. The end of the chapter tells us that God closed her womb in judgment for her contempt of David’s worship (2 Sam 6:23). While there is so much more to explore about this passage, at minimum, it should give us pause before speaking when we consider the importance of dance. If nothing else, we should pray and ask God to show us what we may have been missing due to our own cultural assumptions and judgments.

Dancing, the Arts, and the Church

Since the Reformation, many denominations have had a low view of art. Such a view is unbiblical and unhealthy. God gave us an imagination and the skills to write songs, create plays, design architecture, dance, and so much more. The arts are a gift of God, and valuable for us to enjoy. Consider the words of Martin Luther and John Calvin:

“There is no vehicle which displays the Glory of God and the Wonder of God as clearly as the arts. Art is the reflection of God’s creativity, evidence that we are made in His image.”
– Martin Luther

“The poets are more correct who acknowledge that all which is suggested by nature comes from God; that all the arts emanate from Him, and therefore ought to be accounted divine inventions.”

– John Calvin

Did you find this helpful? Let us know.

Do you disagree? Let us know.

We look forward to a dialogue with you in the comments below.

Copyright © 2025 Joel & Michelle Pelsue. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.

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8 comments on “Art is For Your Heart Dancing”

  1. Mona Lisa de Alba Ramirez Reply

    Absolutely loved this thanks for digging in deeper and revealing the beautiful nuggets, cmon church, praise Him , hallelujah amen

  2. Kevin Roscoe Farnsworth Reply

    The Lord God has blessed me of being a choreographer for over 30 years through the swing years country years recently dancing some country western in a Ben Affleck film coming out this year, a commercial in several others too! Thank you Lord I am now 65 and love teaching all the arts of dancing styles but adapting it with Christian music to the glory of God mainly the swing, country, line dancing, freestyle, Contra and just lifting your hands and bouncing around dancing to the Lord! Thank you for posting this very encouraging!

  3. J Reply

    Oh, Joel, thank you so much for writing this; your timing was impeccable! I am about to do a worship event with the band I’m in, for a Christian leaders conference. I’m a vocalist who is also a dancer, and with a full drum kit in our band I feel led to dance. But sometimes I hear the lie that I shouldn’t do that because of the setting and that it might offend some. During our rehearsal I was dancing and was pondering if I should go all out with my love for God at the actual event. I didn’t ask for your article to suddenly appear in my inbox right before this gig. I feel it is a Word from the Lord for me. I am going to praise Him with all of my being because He is so worth it! Jesus is so worthy of all of our praises!!! And I pray it will release others into a freer expression of their own love and devotion to Him! Please pray for me and for God’s fruit at this Saturday’s event. Thank you again for taking the time and effort to write the article and for all that you do to encourage artists! You are a blessing to the Body of Christ!!!

    • Joel Pelsue Reply

      My pleasure. Sometimes inviting people to dance where they are is helpful…give them permission just to clap and sway to the music.
      The challenge in church is with people who become distracting, or sensual in their dancing.
      …so just remember to steer clear of those concerns, or even voice them so people know this is about worship, not personal expression.

  4. Jim Klukow Reply

    Great biblical article on dancing but I have a few follow-up questions.
    Dancing socially is one venue appropriate for dancing-many will agree, but what about in a worship service?
    How can a church use dance in a worship service?
    Is it even appropriate to lead worship through dance? I’ve seen it done a few times but clearly, it is not the norm.
    Cultural traditions are strong in denominations that don’t use dance. How would you advise such a church in the use of dance in the worship service?
    Finally, what impact do you see upon unbelievers when they see dance as part of the leading of worship?
    Can dance be a type of evangelist expression and if so, how?

    • Joel Pelsue Reply

      Thank you for your kind words, Jim.

      I’ll take your questions in order:
      first, “Dancing socially is one venue appropriate for dancing-many will agree, but what about in a worship service?”
      Well, for the simplest application, I think of singing and doing the motions to “Father Abraham, had many sons…” This is a form of dance that enhances education, and theological training.
      It makes me wonder, what if the Westminster Catechism was put into dances for children?
      It is more didactic, but fits.

      I also played sax in an African American Church during college, and everyone was swaying to the music, clapping, and some congregants had percussive instruments in their hands. There was a palpable joy I rarely find in typical Presbyterian services.

      Second, “How can a church use dance in a worship service?”
      Admittedly, this is tricky. We must avoid sensual dance, or dance focused on self-expression that can be distracting. Folk dancing is probably a better model. I was part of an Israeli dancing team when I was young, where we practiced and performed Israeli dances to Biblical verses. These are dances that take time to teach, but are easy for everyone to participate in…from little kids to the elderly among us. While this may make the more left-brain among us a bit uncomfortable, it would be more inviting to the right-brain people, and to people who learn and remember better through a kinesthetic learning style. Interestingly, we are typically giving preference to abstract mental learning approaches. I think the dance would have to be simple enough for anyone to join in, and simple enough that it does not distract from the verses we are singing while dancing. Our African brothers and sisters may have something to teach us here. Clapping and swaying to the music together may be the best start. James Ward, whom you know, is good at getting people clapping and moving to the music.

      Third,
      “Is it even appropriate to lead worship through dance? I’ve seen it done a few times but clearly, it is not the norm.”
      I agree it is not the norm. It might be more normal in other cultures. Dance in the Western world has been turned into a venue for self-expression, which we could exegete and probably conclude that it leads to a worship of the body, sensuality, or even a worship of enjoying the rhythm. Thus, it can lead to worshiping the creature (the person dancing) rather than the Creator (Romans 1). But if dance was such a central part of Israelite culture, maybe we are missing something valuable. We need new eyes, and a new perspective on dance.

      You are getting me thinking…
      When I have done weddings for people of Jewish, Greek, Italian, Ukrainian, or other descent, I have enjoyed seeing the value of dance in expressing community. It focuses on the beauty of marriage and honoring the parents, etc. Clearly, they are celebrating biblical principles through dance.
      It would be great to get a choreographer to interact with this…I may reach out to a couple of friends…

      As you know, there are also ecclesiastical dance troupes that may help us slow down, and meditate upon Scripture or worship as they use choreography to communicate and express God’s word in new ways. I see this more in Pentecostal churches, or liturgically rich services where the dancers wear robes.

      Now, I may need to write a longer article on this… I would love to hear your thoughts…

      Fourth,
      “Cultural traditions are strong in denominations that don’t use dance. How would you advise such a church in the use of dance in the worship service?”
      I would start with Father Abraham, and other children’s songs. Teaching them to the kids, corporately is valuable. Then we can model what the African churches do with swaying and clapping. This would be a good start. The next level could be something like doing sign language together (just as we do when we teach children). That’s a good start…

      Finally, “what impact do you see upon unbelievers when they see dance as part of the leading of worship?
      Can dance be a type of evangelist expression and if so, how?”

      Yes,

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