Why should we praise God?
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: “Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you.” In II Samuel 22:4 is says “I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…” In Psalm 48:1 “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…” Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: “…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…” From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.
By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 “I will praise thee with my whole heart….” Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.
When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him “all day long.” Psalm 63: 4 states the “I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name.” In Psalm 84:4 we find that “they will be singing Your praises all the day”. Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him “from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” We never stop praising the Lord!
My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my “Sacrifice of Prayer.” Amen
