In christianity, there is a calling that is general to everyone; that is the calling to glorify God. As children of God, it is important that our thoughts should be targeted at how to glorify God.
In our daily activities, both outdoors or indoors, we should have God on our minds and seek to do only the things that would bring glory to God’s name and His Kingdom.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31(NIV) “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”, this is because one of the main aims of which we, as God’s children, were created is to bring Glory to God’s name: “…everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:7(NIV). A healthy Christian life is one that glorifies God daily. When speaking and acting, can people point out that we are called Christ? The answer to this question can help you know if you bring glory to God’s name.
You may be wondering what it means to glorify God’s name. Glorifying God does not mean you add glory to God’s name or Kingdom.
Personally, at the beginning of my journey with Christ, I heard so many times that my life had to glorify God and I was determined to do just that.
However, I wondered why I had to add glory to God’s name because I genuinely did not know how to add to someone as great and mighty as God. Later on, I realized by the spirit that glorifying God did not require me adding glory to God.
Instead, it required me to accept and acknowledge the glory of God. Take, for instance, a National Hero. A National Hero is someone who has exhibited outstanding, courageous, and noble qualities. Such a person has also contributed to the growth of their nation.
Someone who has been conferred a national hero does not need society or an individual to add achievements to their name. They have done the work and deserve the accolades.
All the public can do is acknowledge who they are and what they have done, thereby giving them glory. This is the same with God, He has created all things beautiful as we can see, He has been a loving Father to us even when we strayed, and many more that He has done.
As mortals, we cannot add to the things God has done, rather we can only give glory to God for the things that he has already done. All we can do is know how to glorify God by acknowledging him through our daily living.
How To Glorify God Anywhere You Are
Glorifying God is pertinent to the Christian life, so do you glorify God just indoors or anywhere you are? In any place or position you find yourself, ensure that your reaction will glorify God.
One of the ways through which I remind myself to glorify God is daily declarations of the wonders and goodness of His name. This was one of the first things I practiced when I sought knowledge of how to glorify God.
I also engage the fruit of the spirits daily, so in whatever position or situation I find myself, I mentally shuffle through the fruits of the spirits as given to us in Galatians 5:22-23(NIV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, -gentleness and self-control…” These nine attributes are expected of any man who is in Christ and living by them, glorifies God.
How To Glorify God In 10 Ways
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they were created and have their being.”Revelation 4:11 (NIV).
Glorifying God for all he has done may not seem easy, however, it is easier when we become one with Christ. In this way, our thoughts, speech, and actions are aligned with God’s will and this is how to glorify God.
There are also a thousand and one ways to glorify God but in this article, I will discuss with you 12 ways to glorify God that I have practiced over the years. They are:
1. Glorifying God With Your Talents And Gifts
Whether young or old, every one of us has a talent, gift, or skill that God has blessed us with. It is an innate ability bestowed on every man, however, it is our duty to discover and prune it (them).
It may be a God-given talent(singing, dancing, etc) or a spiritual gift ( prophecy, healing, faith, etc). Identifying your talents may seem like a real hassle, but this is one of the many reasons God gave us the Holy Spirit -to teach us all things.
The Holy Spirit will, therefore, guide you to your talents and when you have discovered it(them), use it to glorify God. As a child, I found myself interested in arts, especially dancing. But when I became born again, I realized my talent for dancing was solely to glorify God so I did just that.
I found a community of gospel ministers and started using my talent as a tool for evangelism. As I grew in faith and in the community, I also got to see that I had the gift of public speaking and this manifested through spoken word poetry.
So, I started to prune this gift alongside my talent. Recognizing my talent and joining a Christian community taught me how to glorify God with my gifts. So when people see what you have in your hand, they also will give glory to God.
2. Producing And Exhibiting Spiritual Fruits
A tree that is planted and well-nurtured is expected to produce fruits at its time. But when the tree does not produce fruits, it becomes useless and does not bring glory to the farmer. So also, “…is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:8 (NIV) (God is interested in us bearing fruits) Some Christians become lax after they have received salvation and do not bother with spiritual growth. Jesus gave his disciples the story of a vine and branches (john 15:1-).
From this story, we see that Jesus is the true vine and God is the gardener. And any plant that does not bear fruit would be cut off.
Therefore even as we have received salvation and remained in Christ, it is also important that we work to bear fruit to the glory of our Father.
One of the ways through which we can bear fruits is sharing the gospel with friends and family who are yet to receive Christ. When we are encouraged to bear spiritual fruits, it is not about how to become a Christian instead, it is about how to live a Christian life.
This is because spiritual fruits are manifested through our daily living. As light cannot be hidden, so should your spiritual fruits not be hidden, that you will glorify God through it.
3. Emulate Christ’s Integrity
Do you ever see yourself as a role model? One of the reasons Jesus taught the disciples was to pass on knowledge of God to them, this knowledge that has now reached us through the word and the Holy Spirit.
The disciples of Jesus, through the knowledge of God they received from Jesus, became role models and so should we. Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” As Christians, living like Christ did is our aim.
Jesus lived a life of honesty and integrity as He kicked against anything short of these. In the same vein, we should avoid things that do not glorify God and embrace integrity so that we can resemble Christ in our actions.
4. Living Unashamed Of The Gospel
One of the best ways to tell people about God is through your life. In everything you do, are you focused on Christ? Do you seek how to glorify God with everything you say or do? Living unashamed of the gospel means proclaiming and living by the gospel wherever you find yourself.
It also means identifying with Christ and not being scared of what people may say or ashamed of who are in Christ. At a point in my life, I worshipped God just within me and indoors.
I felt I was not ready to share my experience of Christ with others, so I would be quiet when the subject of Christ came up.
Gradually, I couldn’t hide it as people began to see that something had changed in my life and at this point, I found myself proclaiming the gospel and acting according to the word wherever I went – in the market, salon, school, etc.
I became too excited to identify with Christ and discovered that this was also a way of glorifying God in all I did and so I continued with it.
Dear friend, it may seem hard to proclaim the word or live by it, but I promise taking it little by little, it would amaze you how much you crave to be identified with Christ and so, glorify God.
5. Praising God
Offering praises to God is one of the major things we can give to God despite all He has done for us. Praise is a way to glorify God as by praising, you lift up His name and extol Him. When we take a look at the Bible, we find that praising God is mentioned throughout.
David the psalmist gave praises to God in all situations, this was his way of glorifying God for the things he had done and for the victories he had not yet seen.
Another example is the children of Israel. Throughout their time in the wilderness, their major tool of glorifying God for the wonders He did for them was Praise. Granted, absolute praise turns things around and gives us victory.
However, when we praise, let our aim be to extol and magnify the name of God. Psalms 63:3-4(NIV) “…my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands.”
6. Speaking About God
Receiving salvation is a great testimony as even the Kingdom of God rejoices when a lost soul comes home. It is therefore your duty to spread the good news of Christ everywhere you go.
This is a way to glorify God because by speaking about God, you are acknowledging his good works and his glory. “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” 1 Chronicle 16:24 (NIV).
God has made himself available to us through salvation, this is why we know the importance of glorifying Him and seek to know how to glorify God.
In this regard, we ought to speak about God’s love and kindness, not just with brethren, but also with those who have not received Christ. In this way, we are able to spread the gospel as well as glorifying God.
7. Strive For Excellence
God is excellent in all His doings, just take a look at you! God is an embodiment of excellence and the spirit of Christ is excellent, so our response should be an imitation of this excellence.
If we are one with the Father and Son, we are expected to be excellent in all our deeds, as this is another way on how to glorify God for “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 (NIV).
When you dedicate all that you are and all that you do to God, you will be encouraged to imitate the excellence of God and so always do your best.
In fact, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit that is readily available to us, it is impossible to go wrong. As Peter said, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life and pursue excellence, Peter, hence urges us to “make every effort” to supplement our faith with excellence.
8. Glorifying God Through Prayers
The very act of prayer brings glory to God. It shows that we are surrendered to God and accept that we are powerless before Him because every power in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John14:13 (NIV). This shows us that prayer is not only to ask of God but also to glorify His holy name. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, the first line in the prayer was “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallow be your name…” This line acknowledges God, therefore giving honor and glory to his name.
So when we pray, it is vital to ensure that we glorify God’s name first before we even ask for anything else. God is glorified through our prayers as we proclaim his name. He is also glorified as we show our need for Him and surrender to His will completely.
9. Service
Jesus, throughout his life on earth, was keen on service. In fact, He was an embodiment of service and as Christians, we ought to be Christ-like. Therefore serving God and even humanity is a trait to adopt in your quest to know how to glorify God.
When we serve the people around us, that is, the people we can see, we are serving God and when we serve God it is a way of bringing and giving Glory to him.
This is clearly stated in Matthew25:40 (NIV) “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
There are different ways to serve others and God such as spreading the gospel, volunteering in our community, and so on. However, there may be a specific aspect of service that you would like to function in order to glorify God.
You can ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to the aspect you can serve in. Just in case you need to know how to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, read this article here:
10. Glorifying God Through Your Faith
One way to know how your life can glorify God is when you are sure that your life pleases Him. So you may ask, “how can I glorify God by pleasing Him?” Let’s take a look at what the scripture says about it.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) says: “And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1(NIV) is “…confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” When we believe in the promises of God, we are displaying an act of faith that automatically glorifies God. In our daily affairs, faith should be our go-to regardless of the situation at hand.
As an individual, I have been faced with challenges that seem impossible and so, I almost want to doubt the promises of the Lord.
But I find ways such as praying and studying the word, to help me reawaken my Faith because I remember that my life is meant to bring Glory to God. Dear friend, acknowledging God’s word will help you please Him through faith and glorify His name.
11. Obedience To God
In the scriptures which we live by, obedience to God has been given as a commandment. To be sure that you are glorifying God, you have to ensure that you are obeying his word and commandments.
Can God send you and you would go? Or would you be like Jonah in the Bible? Are you obeying God’s every word or are you obeying the ones that are convenient for you?
Our ancient fathers lived solely for the glory of God because they understood the purpose of their existence such that when God commanded them, they obeyed without hesitance.
For instance, Abraham was going to carry out one of the biggest sacrifices ever by sacrificing His Son as an offering because God said so.
He had no bother because he believed and knew he had to obey God. Eventually, God provided a lamb for the sacrifice and rewarded Abraham handsomely. I can assure you that every word that God gives is not going to be comfortable for you.
In fact, from the stories in the Bible, we can see that it is those things that were not convenient for the Bible characters that brought Glory to God and reward to them. Obedience is better than sacrifice and it also glorifies God.
12. Glorifying God With Your Body
When we talk about the human body in Christianity, one of the most common statements we may hear is “your body is the temple of God”.
Is this true? Very well, yes! God created us for His glory and so, our bodies and not just actions are for His glory also. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20(NIV). Glorifying God with your body includes, but is not restricted to immorality. It is important to be pure before God, keeping your body holy. However, it is also important that we watch what we put in our bodies.
This includes the kind of food we eat and the contents we digest. Are your body and mind healthy? Do you exercise your body to keep fit? Are you clean on the outside as well as the inside? These are also aspects to consider when you aim to glorify God with your body.
As a child of God, know how to glorify God with your body. Always remember, Cleanliness is next to Godliness and as long as you have the capacity, keep your body healthy and abstain from intimate acts.
When it comes to glorifying God, it does not necessarily mean that everything we do must be spiritual. The little things that concern you daily can show how to glorify God.
Singing, dancing, praying, serving, talking, and so on, can glorify God. In everything we do, we should remember, that we were created for the glory of God therefore let us ensure that our daily living will glorify the Lord!
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