To God be the glory in all things. A phrase so bold, yet one we say with little regard for the words’ true meanings.

How often do we do things in order to look better in eyes of others? Or to gain fame for ourselves? This can be in something as little as raising our hands during worship to look more holy, or as major as becoming a preacher because you desire being the one people look to for help.

How often do we do things with little regard to how they honor (or dishonor) Christ? What about the music we listen to, or the Netflix shows we binge? Are these giving glory to God, or are they just there to quench the desires of our flesh?

When we pray “to God be the glory in all things,” it’s a surrender of our will. It’s handing over all praise and honor to the One who created us. He bestowed upon us our talents, abilities, and time anyway, so shouldn’t He get the recognition in the first place? To take credit for our successes is prideful. To neglect to rejoice in thanksgiving to God is dishonorable. He is our Provider; we should acknowledge Him as such.

The second part of this prayer is also key. It says “to God be the glory in all things.” This goes beyond our twenty minutes of quiet time with Him every night. It means more than just our Sunday mornings. This includes every aspect of our lives. Jesus didn’t just come to save us once and then leave us to fend for ourselves - He wants to be Lord of our whole lives, every moment of every day. This means sacrificing our will for His. As it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

2 Timothy 2:22 tells us to “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” This is our call - to set aside ourselves and to chase after God’s righteousness, no matter the cost. It’s not a burden or a drag, but a call to adventure through life with our Creator! To find joy in laughter, music, the mountaintops and the trees, acknowledging Him in the process. To seek all things good and accredit them to the One who made them.

Let’s take this prayer and make it mean something in our hearts. Let’s wake up each morning with a promise to give God the glory in all that we do. If it means that we check our motives before we speak, so be it. If it means we set aside our Netflix obsessions for the sake of keeping our minds pure, then let us do it with joy, knowing that God’s desire for our hearts is way better than our own. He wants our delight to be in Him alone, not the things of this world. For the world will surely fade, but He is steadfast and the only One who satisfies us in the end. Through both our darkest trials and our greatest moments, He is to be glorified in all things - even down to the tiniest details of our days.

“The great sin of the world is not that the human race has failed to work for God so as to increase His glory, but that we have failed to delight in God so as to reflect His glory. For God’s glory is most reflected in us when we are most delighted in Him.” - John Piper, Let The Nations Be Glad