One of the highlights of my week is Tuesday mornings, when I talk and pray with my dear friend K. from Michigan. In prayer, we commit each of our loved ones to God’s care. We lay our concerns at His feet. And we always end the call encouraged in our faith and expecting great things from God.
I love how K. begins her prayers by praising the awesome God of the universe—the One who created the stars, knows every hair upon our heads, and holds our lives in the palms of His hands. As together we turn our hearts to praising Him, the mountains in our minds quickly shrink to molehills. We realize He is able.
Powerful and inspiring.
Praising God is an expression of worship—of humbling ourselves before an Almighty God—of magnifying, glorifying, and centering our attention on Him. Many of the Psalms are songs of praise.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. (Psalm 92:1)
While most everyone would agree that praising God is good, few feel any need to do so if they don’t feel like it, or things aren’t going well. Praise is often left at church on Sunday or viewed as a response reserved for when good things happen.
God says differently.
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)
We’re to praise, or speak good of God all the time!
Praise is an expression of faith, a recognition of God above my circumstances, a declaration of victory.
The New Testament book of Hebrews calls praise a “sacrifice”:
Therefore by Him [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
We offer praise not only to show our heart-felt expressions of love, reverence, and thanksgiving, but because we trust God and want to please Him. Therefore, we praise Him when life is good, and even when it is not so good.
Psalm 100:4 says we enter His presence through praise:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
At home, at work, in the car, the grocery store, or anywhere—praise to God brings the refreshing of His presence.
Smith Wigglesworth[i] said:
Praise is God’s sunlight in the heart. It destroys sin germs. It ripens the fruits of the Spirit. It is the oil of gladness that lubricates life’s activities. There can be no holy life without it. It keeps the heart pure and the eye clear. Praise is essential to the knowledge of God and His will.
A live filled with praise to God is not only the most joyful way to live, but is one of the most powerful ways to change your life.
[i] Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) was a well-known British evangelist and faith healer.
Copyright © 2015 Cheryl Elton
God isn’t interested in all the great things we think we are doing – but He IS interested in receiving praise from His people. We don’t have to praise Him because of what He has done, we praise Him because of who He is.
Well said! Thanks for your insights, Ken.