How do you worship God during your time in college? How do you praise Him? When we talk about worship, the very first thing that comes to people’s mind is the singing aspect of Sunday service. But many forget that singing a song of praise is an expression of worship, not the only way to worship.

The true definition of Worship means continual devotion to something or someone. To the church of Colosse, Paul writes “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17 NLT). What Paul is saying is that we are called to bring honor to Christ in every aspect and activity of daily living. As a Christian, you represent Christ at all times. If you look closely at the verse, it mentions that whatever we do or say, we do it to give thanks. Worship is our response, it’s a way of being grateful to the Father!

Reasons To Praise The Lord

In Ephesians 1:3-10, Paul explains why we should give praise to The Lord. Such reasons are as follows: He gave us spiritual blessings, He chose us long before creation. He gave us sanctification, His grace, His redemption through Jesus Christ, His forgiveness, His gifts of wisdom and understanding, and His plan for the future.

Ultimately our motivation to worship God is because of who He is, but how do we show our worship to Him, here below?

How to Worship The Lord

Paul answers this question. His response: “Give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1). The way to worship is to be a living sacrifice.

That means we must submit to God and be consecrated to Him—we must be set apart for Him. As Paul continues, he says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). We are to let God transform us. This entails our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, our attitudes— everything and anything. With our minds transformed and our hearts dedicated to the Lord, the will or action will follow. A person’s outward actions are a result of what is inward. (See what Jesus says in Matthew 15:18-19).

The heart is where our passions and motivations are. As Christians, we know that at the moment of salvation, our hearts were redeemed and we were given The Holy Spirit who helps us worship Christ in Spirit and in Truth. To worship “In Spirit” means to have a passion and love for God and “In Truth” means to have knowledge of God. Both are needed. Without love for God, we wouldn’t know what truth is and our worship would not be genuine. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth and to transform our hearts to love the Lord.

Being a living sacrifice means we use our bodies to worship the Lord. Here are some examples: Pray. Your tongue is a part of your body, so devote time to having a conversation with God. Use your ears to listen to Christian music. Use your eyes to look at what God has already done and to see where he is at work and how you can join Him. The Spirit also ministers to us through God’s Word. As a college student, when was the last time you read your Bible? Align your mind and your heart to Biblical Truth as Philippians 4:8 says: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (emphasis mine).

Meditate on Hebrews 13:15: “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”

When we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, then our hearts are transformed and our outward attitude will become a light that will impact the world. People will notice who we are in Christ.

This is True Worship

True worship is when our heart posture is fixed on the One who deserves all praise: Jesus. True Worship is when our hearts are fueled with love to do things the Lord loves and not what he hates, as said in John 14:15: “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

True worship is devoting our lives out of love and not out of obligation or legalism. Too often, we worry about how we dress or about church on Sunday, but we rarely reflect on our hearts. We go to Church expecting emotional moments, but if that’s our focus, then we are worshiping worship rather than the one who deserves worship. True worship is not confined to what we do on a Sunday, but rather what comes after.

True worship is for God and not for ourselves. We can’t serve something other than God and we can’t value anything other than God. What we devote our time to is what we are devoted to. So ask yourself: What is valuable to you? Is it praiseworthy? Practice the habit of worshiping the Lord.

God wants genuine and real worship, nothing fake for a show. We must also not expect anything in return–worship means sacrificing ourselves to give glory to God even when things go wrong. As Psalmist, David wrote “I will Praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak of his praises” (Psalm 34:1). David also writes, “I will exalt you, my God and king, and praise your name forever and ever. I will Praise you every day; Yes, I will Praise you forever” (Psalm 145:1-2).