Praise Puts God in First Place |
Praise is always turning our attention from ourselves to God. It's remembering and recounting who He is and what He has done, instead of wallowing in the mire of self-absorption. Truly, we are incredibly self-centred people. Our first thought is always how something or someone is affecting us.
Praise turns our eyes from ourselves to God. It focuses our thoughts on His majesty and power and invites others to do the same. Instead of gazing at our own navel, we raise our eyes and our heart to see his face and to affirm again our awe of Him, our gratitude for His love and mercy, and our absolute dependence on Him.
In essence, praise is bragging about God instead of us or the idols of this world. It's celebrating who He is and how He relates to His people. Many Christians and congregations rarely do this. We are so self-focused that we treat praise and worship as preliminaries that we have to get through to get to the important stuff, which of course is the teaching and personal ministry that make us feel good. Sadly, we all too often treat our expressions of admiration toward God as though He is of secondary importance.
I'm sure God is not pleased with this behaviour. Indeed, there's no reason to have a meeting if praise and worship are not the central focus of our time together. We may call our collection of traditions, habits, and activities "worship," but we have no hope of worshipping God if we are not willing to first give Him the praise that is His due.
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Praise Flows From Our Friendship With God |
People who praise God on a regular basis do so because they have found the Lord to be so altogether lovely that they can't stop thinking of Him and talking of Him. They have gotten close enough to Him to see His true nature and character, and they have found in Him more than everything they have ever hoped for.
You see, you can't brag about someone you don't know - at least your bragging cannot be truthful and sincere. Therefore, although praise may start with what you know about God, it must eventually progress to what you yourself have experienced of Him.
This is when praise becomes more than a chore or a duty. You don't have to work up your praise because it automatically bubbles up from within you. Your relationship with God has confirmed for you that you are blessed at all times. He is your joy, your strength, your comfort, your peace, and on and on. Your life is anchored in Him, and His goodness to you brings His name to your thoughts and your lips repeatedly.
In other words, praise that flows from a deep relationship with God is genuine and true. Your words and acts of adoration arise naturally from your heart. This does not mean that you will always feel like praising. In truth, this does not matter. When your relationship with God is deep and lasting, praise comes no matter what you are experiencing because how you feel does not change who God is in your life.
Praise Is A Conscious Choice |
Praise is an act of your will. When you offer God true praise, you make a conscious decision to commend, approve, and glorify Him. Praise, therefore, is not based on your emotions or feelings. You don't have to feel great - or even good or okay - to praise the Lord.
Despite the many things in your life that may seem to be wrong, praise is your conscious choice because you know that God is the answer to your problems. As long as He is in charge, things will get better. Your intimate fellowship with Him makes this difference. You can focus on what is right - God and His goodness to you - no matter what else is wrong.
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This attitude is quite evident in Psalm 42, where the psalmist laments that his life is not like it once was when he went to the house of the Lord with great joy. His body hurts. Tears are his lot now instead of music and laughter. He even fears that God has forgotten him, so long has it been since he felt God's presence. Yet this hurting, despairing man makes a conscious choice.He exercises his will and chooses to remember God and His goodness.
Notwithstanding his misery and his sorrow, the psalmist gives himself a lecture. He says, "Soul, why are you so upset? Why are you sulking and fretting as though you have no hope? Don't give up! Put your hope in God. He has not given up, even if you have. So, stop dwelling on everything that's wrong and start thinking about all that's right. Remember the friendship we've enjoyed with God.
Recall His many acts of kindness to us. The difficult place we're in right now isn't the end of the story. I'm still going to praise Him, my Saviour and my God." (See Psalm 42).
Perhaps you are carrying a heavy load right now. You are going through some of the toughest times humans experience. Don't let your troubles keep you from praising the Lord. I know that you may feel like you are facing hardships few others have had to face, or that you have lost hope that your circumstances will ever change.
This is precisely the time, dear friend, that God asks you to praise Him. He knows that you are hurting. He also knows that things won't always be the way they now are. In fact, He's waiting to act on your behalf, but He needs you to provide a dwelling place for Him, an altar in your life where He can show up. Praise is that altar.
Praise Is a Willing Sacrifice |
Biblical expressions of praise often include the word will.
* The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him (Exodus 15:2). |
* I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High (Psalm 7:17).
* I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me (Psalm 13:6).
* The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song (Psalm 28:7).
Although "will" can indicate a future time, it can also speak of a conscious choice. In other words: "I am determined to praise God." This is what the Scripture call a sacrifice or offering of praise.
* I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good (Psalm 54:6).
* Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His name (Hebrews 13:15).
Praise becomes a sacrifice when you offer your praise to God just because He deserves it and asks you to do it. You may not feel like praising Him, and in truth, it may be quite difficult for you to look beyond the difficulties in your life. Yet, when you choose to open your lips and speak forth your adoration, gratitude, and thanksgiving to God, you please Him.
Truly, you can always give the Lord some sacrifice. No, you probably won't bring God a lamb, a sheep, or a goat as God's people did in the Tabernacle and the Temple. This does not free you, however, from the responsibility of bringing Him a gift when you come to worship Him. Praise from an obedient heart is the gift that pleases God the most. You may not have anything else to bring Him, but you can always give Him this sacrifice of praise.
Notice that Hebrews calls this "the fruit of our lips." Fruit speaks of a harvest. Farmers will tell you that bringing in the crops is hard work. Sometimes praise requires the same effort. Instead of calling people and waiting for them to minister to you when you are having a hard time, why don't you go ahead and have your own praise service. Sacrifice your hurt feelings, your financial problems, or your troubles with your boss or your wife or your son or daughter on the altar of praise.
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Make it your conscious choice to lay aside all that pulls you down or makes you afraid or causes you to feel like giving up, and open your mouth and talk to God. Tell him how wonderful He is. Tell Him how thankful you are that He is in your life. Tell Him that you are glad He is on your side. Tell Him that He is worth more to you than everything else in the world.
This sacrifice of praise won't cost you any money, but it will cost you your self-centeredness and your natural tendency to dwell on whatever is wrong in your life. Giving God your sacrifice of praise means that you choose to dwell on Him instead of yourself. Your mouth is filled with all that is good in your life instead of everything that is bad.
This sacrifice can never be forced from you by someone else. Oh, you may sing or raise your hands because someone tells you to, but outward show is not inward praise. A sacrifice of praise comes from inside you. It is your will taking control over your emotions and doing what God wants and empowers you to do. The book of Leviticus says it this way,
When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf (Leviticus 22:29).
The King James Version ends the verse with these words: "Offer it at your own will." The sacrifice that is pleasing to God is what you give from your heart despite what you are feeling or what your circumstances are. Somehow, you find the power in the midst of your difficulty to praise the Lord with what little strength you have. I don't know about you, but I prefer to praise with whatever strength I have left in hard times, rather than to complain.
Complaining accomplishes nothing more than to further drain our strength. Praise brings the Lord into our thoughts, thereby lifting us above whatever is causing our struggle. Celebrating God by focusing on Him instead of us is truly the essence of praise. When we do this, God takes our sacrifice and blesses us.
So, don't wait for things to go right before you start praising God. Start praising the Lord, and things will go right. After days, weeks, and even months of this sacrifice of praise, you will find that you naturally find many things for which to praise Him. after all, He is deserving of every word of commendation, confidence, approval, good report, and honour you can give Him. The more you notice Him and His benefits to you, the more He will bless you and give you more reasons to praise Him.
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Praise Is an Expression of Faith |
Faith without deeds (works) is dead (see Jas. 2:17). Likewise, praise that is in the heart but is not expressed is dead. Therefore, faith is the highest act of praise, and praise is the highest form of faith.
Both are expressions of agreement with God. When you have faith, you hold to His promises no matter what you see at the moment. When you praise Him, you proclaim what you know to be true despite the evidence to the contrary.
Think of Abraham when he tied Isaac to that altar on Mount Moriah. (See Genesis chapter 22) I'm sure Abraham wasn't his heart was quite heavy. Why? Abraham was expressing his trust in God and his confidence that somehow everything would come out right.
After all, not only had God given Isaac to Abraham and his wife, Sarah, when they were quite late in years; He had also promised that Abraham would have more descendants than the sands of the sea.
Moreover, those grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren were to come through Isaac, the son of promise, not through Ishmael. So either God would provide another sacrifice in the place of Isaac or He would somehow restore Isaac to Abraham after the sacrifice. In either case, Abraham was willing to trust God to keep His covenant and the promises that went with it.
An attitude of faith in the midst of hard times is always at the core of sacrificial praise because it is based in the assurance that anything is possible with God. What may be impossible for man is not beyond the reaches of God simply because of who He is.
So praise that clings to who God is rather than to what we human beings see or do is a fundamental expression of faith. It is saying, "I don't know what You are doing, why You are doing it, or how this whole thing is going to end up, but I trust You, God. I know You will be faithful to me. You will never abandon me.
Therefore, I'm going to obey You in as much as I understand to do. The rest is up to You. I do this because You are my God and my Saviour. All I have, am, and ever hope to be is Yours." Such praise frees God to work in our lives.
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