Praise

When I recognize that God rules every realm of this world, how should I respond?  In the Old Testament book of Psalms we can see many valid and appropriate responses. Let's start with Praise. The writers of the Psalms certainly understand the power of praising God’s name.

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Or

Psalm 104

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

May my meditation be pleasing to him as I rejoice in the Lord.

Praise is something we struggle with a little, maybe it is because of the world we live in, maybe it is because of our affluence, maybe it is because of our egos.  I'm not really sure and the answer would probably be different for each of us.

We are very comfortable asking God for all sorts of things; we very rarely struggle when we need to ask God for something.  We are also very comfortable thanking God for things…life, health, family, material blessings...the list goes on and on. We don’t usually have to search for words when we decide to thank God for our blessings.

But if I were to ask you to praise God, I think some of us would not know what to say. Praise involves knowing the character of God, knowing His holiness, His greatness. Praise is thinking about the unchanging attributes of God:  His eternal nature, His immutability, His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.  Praise of God takes a little practice because it sounds funny to us when we first start but, it is such a vital response to God.

When I praise God it helps me remember my place in the grand scheme of things

It helps me remember how much I need God on my side.

It helps my put into perspective everything that is happening in life.

It helps me know that God is bigger than anything I might be facing.

Start small.  When you pray, open your prayer to God with a one-sentence statement of praise:

• I praise you God for being the creator of everything.
• I praise you God for great mercy and love for us.
• I praise you God because you are unchanging from generation to generation.

If you are not in the habit of praising, I challenge you to develop a praise response to the Almighty, Everlasting God of the Ages.