How to Serve God

Serving God Through Faith

Develop a relationship with God. To start serving God, you have to discover who God is to you. Is your relationship with God something you fall back on in your time of need? Or is He someone you communicate with every day? Your relationship with God will help you to serve him through your thoughts and actions. Think about your own life and what God has given you.

Pray to God. You don’t have to be in a church or on your knees to pray; you can just talk to God as a form of prayer. You can find specific prayers for almost any situation in your life, or you can simply ask God to help you with you a problem. You can pray for guidance, peace, or any number of things that are on your mind. Prayer is a way of serving God that can be very beneficial to you as it’s a way of letting your faith guide you while you learn to focus on what’s happening in your life and address any issues. Prayer is not a way to ignore what’s happening in your life, nor should it be used as a means to ask God for things, as He’s not a genie who grants wishes. Serving God through prayer is sort of the first step on the path to serving God throughout your whole life and through your faith in Him.

Study your Bible. Reading your bible, or whatever text is considered sacred in your religion is another form of prayer and service to God. Reading the text can give you guidance if you are feeling astray, inspire you, and even give you some lessons in how to serve God. Join a bible study group where you can learn how to interpret the text with other followers. Once you understand the Bible you can help others to do the same. As you read the Bible, think about how it reflects on your own life. You don’t have to read your bible from beginning to end, you can just find books or passages that you feel connect you to God.

Give thanks to God. Remember to take a moment sometimes and give thanks for what God has given you, or helped you get on your own. If you are Christian you can do this at church, before a meal, at bedtime, or whenever you feel like it. Just take a moment and thank God for what He has given you, whether it's the food on your table or the clothes on your back. If you practice another religion like Hinduism, the basic practice is to thank God three times a day. The three times are: after you get up in the morning, before your midday meal, and before bed. Whether it’s before a meal, before bed, or whenever you have a free moment, take a minute to thank God for giving you the tools you need in your life to succeed.

Get strength from God. There’s a proverb about a single pair of footprints in the sand during the worst points in your life. And the message of the proverb is that when you thought you were on your own during those hardest parts of your life, God carried you through. Serving God can come from letting him give you strength when you need it most by simply putting your faith in him. Getting strength from God isn't always the easiest concept. After all, how is God going to make you physically stronger? He won't, but you can use your faith in him to find strength in your daily life. Maybe you are quick to anger. When you feel your blood beginning to boil, take a moment and just pray to God for peace. Ask to find the strength to stay calm and let things roll off your back. Taking a minute to just breathe and pray can help you calm down. Perhaps you are having a difficult time coping with something in your life; by praying for strength, you may find that you have the ability to cope better. Getting strength from God will a lot of the time come down to faith and the knowledge that you are never walking alone, that He is there to pick you up if you fall.

Pray with others. Maybe a friend or someone you don't know very well needs some help or is having a hard time. Praying with them, if they’re open to it, or even praying for them can go a long way. You shouldn’t force anyone to pray with you or condemn them for not serving God in the same way that you do. If someone isn’t comfortable with prayer or doesn’t believe in God, then you can serve Him by praying to God that this person finds the peace, strength, and faith they need in their life.

Pray with your family. A family that prays together stays together. Serving God isn’t always an individual thing. When you and your family give thanks and all have faith, you are serving God together.

Serving God in Your Community

Be a mentor. You can serve God by being a mentor or positive role model to someone who may be younger than you, or even around your age. You can help a younger family member who needs guidance, or you could join a Big Brother/Big Sister program. Putting someone ahead of you and helping others are great ways to serve.

Volunteer in your community. Volunteering is another great way to serve God and can be done in many ways. You can volunteer at a local food shelter or soup kitchen. You can also serve God through cleaning up your neighborhood or being part of a neighborhood watch, and protecting those in your community you love. Remember that serving God can be as simple as helping out a neighbor with a small task or favor and doesn’t have to be a big grand gesture.

Give what you don’t need. If you’ve studied your bible you’ll know that there are countless passages about only taking what you need and helping others by giving what you don’t need. This is a great way to serve God as you can easily look around your home and find things you don’t use or need anymore to give away. Instead of throwing out old clothes or furniture you can donate them to places like Goodwill. You can also donate any extra canned food you may have to your local food shelter.

Go out of your way to help someone in need. You can always serve God by being the Good Samaritan. If you see someone in need, try to help them. You don’t have to do something grand as helping someone can be as simple as opening a door and picking up something someone may have dropped.

Pay it forward. Remember a time when someone helped you out with something? Well, now it’s your turn. Do the same for someone who could use your help. Maybe someone let you merge ahead in traffic or in a line at the store. Now it’s your time to do the same for someone else. Paying it forward is a great way to serve God and doing something good for someone else will make you feel good as well. It’s a win-win.

Serving God by Setting a Good Example

Start going to church. What better way to serve God? Even if you are unable to go, you can always find a time a couple of times a week to quietly reflect, pray, and read the Bible. Going to church is one of the most common ways people serve God. Even if it’s not your favorite activity, try and use that time to forget about any troubles you may have in your life and focus on your relationship with God. Church can be a very spiritual and cleansing experience not unlike meditation or exercise. In this case, you’re just exercising your faith.

Spread the word about God. Tell other people about Him or invite them to church. Don't be ashamed of God, He's your creator. However, just as you shouldn’t be ashamed of God, this doesn’t mean that you should shove him down someone’s throat. Serving God doesn’t mean forcing Him on others.

Stay humble about your accomplishments. Serving God doesn’t mean toting your accomplishments and good fortune. It means thanking Him for what he has blessed you with and remaining humble about it. Quietly reflect on how your faith has given you a fortune and remember that it’s your job to use it to help those in need. Maybe you got a big promotion at work. Don’t go around bragging about it, instead use your new status to make your workplace better or help your coworkers when they might need guidance. If you win an award for something or have received recognition for an accomplishment, remember that God gave you the tools you needed and chances are you didn’t accomplish this alone. Serve God by setting an example of humility that others can follow.

Teach your kids about God. If you’re a parent you know how much your children look up to you and learn from you. And leading by example is never more important than when it pertains to your kids. A great way to serve God is to introduce Him into your children’s lives. Read books to your kids that teach them about spirituality. Show them how God exists in their daily life and teach them how to walk with God in their hearts using examples from the Bible or real life.

Let God inform your actions. When you are frustrated or in a hurry to be somewhere or accomplish a task, it can be easy to lose sight of how to serve God. Pause and think about how He would want you to act. This can also be a sort of prayer to God. It’s good to pause sometimes and take a moment to ask yourself, “How does God want me to act?” Letting God and your faith in Him help you decide how to act is not only a great way for you to find some inner peace, but will also show others around you your best self. And others will follow your example.

Forgive those who have wronged you. God is the ultimate forgiver. He forgives us of our sins and transgressions. And while forgiveness isn’t always easy when you’ve been wronged, this is one of the best ways to serve God, and in turn, yourself. If you’re having a hard time forgiving someone, use the other ways that serve God to help you. Pray, talk to God, go to church, and even do something good for someone else. You can write down the good that’s come of out of a bad situation and ask God to give you the strength you need to forgive and focus on those good aspects.