Life was piling up on me. Have you ever been there? It put me in a funk and I knew I needed an attitude change. I needed to focus more on God and less on my life’s storms. I know that when I praise him it reminds me of the greatness of God- his mercy and grace and goodness. Praising him brings me joy, but something told me that praising God to improve my mood was not the reason I should praise Him. I needed a refresher course on praise. Why should we praise God?
Why Praise Him?
“Praise Him for He is worthy to be praised.” Psalm 18:3
We praise Him because he simply deserves it! He is perfect in all his ways- absolute truth, holiness, love, infinite power and knowledge, and sovereignty. We praise Him for the beauty of his creations, and for his grace, mercy, blessings, and forgiveness. David says it best in Psalm 145:3- “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise, his greatness no one can fathom..” God shows us He is worthy!
When Should We Praise?
“I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.” Psalm 34:1
So I’m assuming that my simple morning praise is insufficient! Just as he loves us with his whole being, our hearts and minds should reciprocate.
Tell him how you see him working in your own life. Praise is a natural outpouring from our thankful hearts. Let it show through your words, prayers, song, and actions.
The more you express your praise, the easier and abundant it becomes.
Who Praises God?
Besides us, the angels who surround him in heaven praise him (Psalm 148:2). Nature declares his glory in the heavens (Psalm 19: 1-4).
I can’t look at an intricate flower, or a glorious sunset, or a newborn baby and not marvel at his works of creation.
One day every creature in heaven and earth will praise Him! (Rev 5:13)
Benefits of Praise
There are benefits for us, even if they shouldn’t be our reasons for praise. God doesn’t need our praise, but he created us to praise him. (Isaiah 43:7) He knew that if we would focus on him, our attention is on his nature and off of ourselves.
He is the Great I Am; everything we could possibly need. There is, and will never be anyone or anything greater than Our God!
He promises us “perfect peace” when we fix our thoughts on Him. (Isaiah 26:3) Who couldn’t use a little more peace in their lives?
Another benefit is that our vocal praise to God can be a simple but powerful way to witness to others. Why praise God? Because when we give praise out loud to God, we are ministering to others who may need to hear about his love and peace.
God can use our praise in miraculous ways. God worked a miracle when Paul and Silas praised him while imprisoned.
Even after suffering beatings and imprisonment, they were “praying and singing hymns to God.” At midnight, the prison doors shook open from a violent earthquake. God released them from prison and they then led their jailer and his family to a belief in God.
God still works miracles today. Who knows what miracle he can work through our praise?
Obstacles to Praise
Why is it so difficult sometimes to praise God? I know that my praise can depend on how I am feeling. I’m sure Satan loves it when I focus on myself. He surely doesn’t want me depending on or praising God.
We can fall into the trap of equating our life’s circumstances with a “feeling” of praise. So when any of the myriads of storms we meet hit us, we default to our emotions.
But these are the best times to lift our voices and our hands to Him in praise! It’s easy to praise him for the beauty we see surrounding us. When we praise Him in the storms, we tell him we love and trust him with our lives. Praise fills us with his love, strength, and comfort.
In these times, we bring a “sacrifice of praise” to God. It requires us to humble ourselves before him and choose to honor Him even though life is painful. These acts of praise bring honor and glory to God and turn us towards him when we need him most.
Psalm 84 brings us a beautiful picture of how coming before God and praising him can be our greatest joy.
It’s important to leave the hustle and bustle of the world behind and come to him with praise. Verse 2 says “With my whole being, body, and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.” It ends with “what joy for those who trust in you!”
We can praise God anywhere and anytime. We can do in inwardly and out loud, at any time and any place. It gives us a tiny slice of what heaven will look like when we all gather there together! And who couldn’t do with a bit of heaven here on earth?
“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Psalm 71:14
Blessings,
AnnMarie
Thank you so much I just saw your blog and I’m blessed to have seen it wow I’m now having a knew perspective on praising God.
I’m so glad we connected! It’s so encouraging to me. God bless you!
I saw my self worshiping god in my dream. What does that mean?
Joseph tells us dream interpretations belong to God. (Genesis 40:8). I would pray about your dream (in as much detail as possible) and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the meaning. Listen quietly for His answers and counsel.
Wow this is awesome,great teaching l really learnt a lot pliz keep sharing
Thank you for your encouragement! Yes, I will keep sharing His Word as He is the One who led me to it! Blessings to you! AnnMarie
Praising God makes me feels great like I’m in heaven love him bad.
Amen! Can you imagine what heaven will be like?? So much better than we can ever think or imagine! God bless you!
I’m loving every blog you write, Ann.
Trusting that you are relying on the Holy Spirit to guide the subjects you write about. You’ve touched on so many things already that we as women (and men too) deal with. I forward them to others often (including my husband)
Thank you!
Ps . the only “criticism” would be, it would be nice to be able to post a comment without having to input my name and email address each time. Maybe that’s something I need to pursue on my end. Not a biggie though.
Thanks so much for the feedback Cindy, and your encouragement! I’m replying on my phone, so I will check out the issue with the email!
Update: mine automatically popped up to enter it, I have an android phone. I will def check in to the issue tho- that sounds like a hassle…