This phrase has long been a point of contemplation for me. While I love to praise my God, for all He is and all He has done, I do not understand why Paul used the preface “sacrifice” as I consider praise a joy. To sacrifice means to surrender something of value to someone else and I ascribe a bit of pain in the surrender. It is never painful to praise the living God. This is my quandary.
There must be something besides “(painful) surrender of value.” More to the purpose of atonement.
I have thought that it’s a sacrifice when things are going as badly as possible and you still give God praise for who He is and what He’s doing in the midst of everything collapsing around you.
The times when I’d rather be complaining to Him. But instead I praise Him even when I don’t feel like it.
That’s how I understand praise as being a sacrifice.