Question: What does it mean to fear God?

Answer: First of all, fear of God to me is recognizing who and what God is. God is The Creator of everything. The very first scripture in the Bible tells us who and what He is and has always been. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). As Creator the essense of everything comes from Him. Nothing can be made, thought of, designed, built, processed, developed, etc. without using what He has already created. Without Him the next breath that you take would not be there. The fluid that flows and keeps your body from drying out and turning back into dust belongs to Him. Nothing that He has created has never...ever...had a recall. It works just like He intended it to work. As The Creator he watches what He has made without ever taking as much as a nap. Nothing on His assembly line passes by without an inspection. He knows everything past, present, and future. God is The Creator.

Second, anyone with any sense of what authority is, should have fear of complete authority. That's what God has. But, that's not the fear of God that is mostly mentioned in the Bible. There are ample times in the Bible that God is truly feared but to fear God or fear of God mainly means to OBEY. It means to be humble and give Him reverence. Committ yourself to read, study, walk in His Spirit, trust in His Son, and follow the Comforter(Holy Spirit) that is present in those who believe in Him. The fear of God is to obey Him.

As a child fears his good parents, he is more conceren about not hurting his parents than the punishment he will recieve for disobeying them. Often, just the parents finding out about the deed is painful enough. God however, knows and sees all.

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.