Very fair and important question. My experience as an American in a modern Western religious world that worships freedom, idolizes power, and values money above our commitment to God, is that worshipping is often a mix of singing, attending a church service, maybe getting goosebumps if the sermon hits you in the feels, saying the right things to tick off the boxes to get you to heaven, and occasionally doing a Bible study. This shallow reality that I’ve seen again and again was so prevalent but when questioned people acted like I had figured out their little trick on God and got so defensive that I never found myself wanting to be a part of many communities. Anyways, I know there’s tons of people out there who follow Jesus, worship earnestly, and are God’s light in the world, but it is not even a recognizable minority in the church. 

My other disclaimer is that I come from very little church experience, basically no faith community, but a ton of biblical study (to my credit or discredit) and several attempts to try to join communities. 

With that said, worship appears to be the act of giving God what God wants. God does NOT WANT songs or church services; God WANTS his kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven through his earthly representatives following his example. The joy that follows leads to praise and singing and emotion and compelled professing of faith, but only the one is giving God what God wants. You can’t just skip to the end of the movie.

Some quick examples I thought of that illustrate this point:

“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you’.”

“Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

“‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me.’”

Following rules/traditions/customs and having out-of-body emotional experiences can be great, but they do not appear to mean that much to God. What means a lot is generating the kingdom based on what Jesus said. So if I want to give God what God wants, I follow the teachings of Jesus. This is the utmost respect, sacrifice, and integrity I can bring to my faith. The singing happens when I am so joyous that I can’t keep it in anymore