The Bible instructs us to enter into God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving (Psalm 100:2–4). The Hebrew and Greek words translated as praise are, by their definitions, essentially telling us to give God the praise He deserves because of His qualities, deeds, and attributes, which means to bless, adore; give thanksgiving, appreciation, and commendation. We can regularly express our admiration, gratitude, awe, appreciation, and love, as we come before Him in humility, realizing what an awesome and loving God He is.
We can contemplate what God has told us about Himself and His nature through His Word—that He’s Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—God in three Persons. He’s told us what He’s like, what He’s done, how to be reconciled with Him, how to have His Spirit dwell in us. Through His Word He’s shown us how to know and love Him, how to trust Him, what pleases Him. He has expressed His love, His faithfulness, His care for us. We can therefore know Him, love Him, rely on Him, and confidently believe in, trust, and obey His Word.
In our inner lives, in our spirits, we can worship God by always remembering that He is God—the Creator of the universe who made us, who knows everything about us, and who, as majestic as He is, loves each of us personally. In the book of Revelation, Jesus invites each of us to have a personal relationship with Him when He says: “I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20 NLT).
We can respond to God’s love for us by loving and glorifying Him from within our inward being, with all our heart, soul, rational mind, and all that is within us (Mark 12:30).
The Bible teaches us to “draw near to God and He will draw near to us” (James 4:8). Every day we can seek to dwell in His presence, to live in the awareness of God and all that He is and has done. We can remind ourselves of His attributes, His power, and His love. We can look with amazement at His creation and reflect on its beauty and magnificence. We can appreciate the goodness He has shown to all people and marvel at His love for every person. We can live in awe of the grace and mercy He has bestowed upon us through salvation. We can rejoice that we are adopted into His family through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. We can be profoundly humbled that the Holy Spirit dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16).
We can understand that He is personal and has created us to be personal as well, and to have a relationship with Him. We can consistently strive to nurture and strengthen that relationship. We can seek to dwell in His presence, to love Him, express our gratitude, communicate with Him in prayer, and listen to Him as we read the Bible and hear His still small voice as He communicates with us. We can echo the words of the psalmist: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
In our outer lives, we can worship and glorify God in our actions. We glorify Him when we embrace and follow what His Word teaches and tells us to do, when we live in accordance with it, and put biblical principles into everyday action (John 14:15). Because we are personal beings who have a relationship with God, we can also follow Him by seeking His guidance in prayer, making godly decisions, and doing those things He shows us to do. Each of us is different, and the Lord can give guidance that is specific to each of our lives (Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV). We show Him honor when we ask Him to lead us and when we follow His leading by faith.
We worship God when we live our lives in a manner that reflects God’s love and the principles of His Word. The Bible instructs us to let our lights shine before others, so that they can see what we do and how we live, and experience God’s love and give Him glory because of it (Matthew 5:16). Our godly interactions with others, our everyday living in alignment with the teachings and principles of His Word, when seen by others can shine the light of God’s love and truth and draw others to Him.
We also glorify the Lord before others when we share the good news of the gospel, when we tell our personal testimony of how we came to faith in Christ. When we share Christian literature or teach or by any means inform people about God and His love for them, we are fulfilling His Great Commission to His followers (Matthew 28:19–20). We worship Him when we help those in need, the widows and orphans, the needy, the poor—when we give of ourselves in any way that reflects God’s love and concern for others (James 1:27).
When we pray and ask Him for help for ourselves or others, when we seek His guidance, we are giving Him glory and honor. We are acknowledging our belief in His care and concern for us, in the truth of His Word, and in the dependability of His promises. We acknowledge our need and declare through our prayers that we trust that He will both hear and answer them (1 John 5:14–15). When we confess our sins to Him, we honor Him by acknowledging that we have done wrong and are in need of His forgiveness.
We glorify God when we love our neighbors as we love ourselves; when we do to others as we’d have them do to us (Luke 6:31); when we love in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18); and when we love, obey, and revere God and do the things He says, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Theologian J. I. Packer expressed it this way: “All life activities, too, must be pursued with the aim of giving God homage, honor, and pleasure, which is glory-giving on the practical level.”
When we live in the awareness that God created us in His image, it should motivate us to do our best to pattern our lives after the example Jesus gave us and to live in a manner that brings Him glory. Living a God-glorifying life, however, isn’t a one-way street, with all the benefits going to God. There are blessings received in this life and in the life to come for those who live to love and glorify Him, as we read in the Psalms: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).
As Christians who understand that the Lord desires us to live in a manner that will be blessed by Him and will bless others, we have the opportunity to fulfill the purpose of our Creator in this life, and to dwell in His presence forever in joy and happiness, always being able to give Him the glory He deserves.
If you do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus, you can invite Him into your life by praying this simple prayer:
Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God. Thank You for dying on the cross for me so that, through Your sacrifice, I can live forever with You in Heaven. I ask that You forgive my sins, and I open the door of my heart to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to live in a way that glorifies You. Amen.