For some reason, I had lost my sense of what it truly means to worship God. I felt like I had reduced worship to a 20-minute segment in a church service, where we sing praise and worship songs to Him. Don’t get me wrong—those moments are important, and we absolutely need them! But my struggle was deeper. It was about my daily walk with God.

I prayed, “Lord, how do I worship You continually? I know it’s more than just standing still and singing until I get goosebumps and then walking out of Your presence. We should never walk out of Your presence.”

Right then, I heard in my spirit: “Go to Romans 12.” Then I saw in a vision the verses 1–21. (Guess how many verses are in Romans 12? You’ll find out when you read it!)

While meditating on Romans 12, I could hardly get past verse 1. I’ve read it in three different translations, but for clarity’s sake, let’s look at it in The Passion Translation (TPT):

Romans 12:1 (TPT) — “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be His sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights His heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”

Our true worship is to first become a living sacrifice.

At first, that sounds a little scary! And didn’t Jesus already become a sacrifice for us?

The answer to both is yes. But sacrifice may not be the best word to describe what Paul is saying. The Greek word for “sacrifice” literally means victim. Yet God is not looking for victims—He takes victims and transforms them into victors!

Paul, being Jewish, would have been thinking with a Hebrew mindset. To give yourself as a living sacrifice is rooted in the practice of bringing an offering to the Temple, a way of drawing near to God. In Hebrew, the word for sacrifice is korban (קָרְבָּן), which means to draw near, to approach, or to come close.

So when Paul says to present ourselves as living sacrifices, he’s saying our reasonable act of worship is to continually draw near and stay close to God.

The second part of the scripture tells us to live in holiness.

How do we do that? Romans 12:2 begins to explain:

Romans 12:2 (TPT) — “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes.”

The New King James Version puts it this way — “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

We renew our minds by meditating on His written Word and then doing it. We are led by the Holy Spirit, not by culture.

How often have we asked God, “What is Your will for my life? What is my calling?”

The truth is, if we simply commit to these two verses, we already have a powerful foundation for drawing near and walking with Him in holiness. This is His will for you. In that place, we hear His direction for our next steps and the call on our lives.

There is no better place than God’s perfect will. And don’t worry—you will learn to acclimate to His glorious presence. You’ll find yourself able to live, work, and function while enjoying His presence, finishing your race, and carrying out the Father’s business.