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Praise

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your our marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name.” Psalm 9:1-2 (NKJV)

Praise—we don’t do it often enough. We gripe about the weather, as if we could change it. We complain if we have to do something extra for someone. Have you ever thought about how things could be if we gave praise to God instead of grumbling about what is before us?

I find one of the best parts of a church service is when people give praise to the Lord for His loving kindness. I especially like to hear the young people give praise for guiding their dad or their grandpa through an episode of illness back to relative health.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk speaks of the stones of “the wall will cry out and the beans of the woodwork will echo it.” Habakkuk 2:11. Jesus said if the people didn’t praise God, the stones would cry out. (Luke 19:40) In the early 1990’s, the people in the Midwest were told that a major earthquake would take place. I remembered this passage. I decided to praise God for anything I could. Our church organist asked me one day. “What are you doing to prepare for the earthquake?” I responded, “I’m praying and praising.”

Now, I don’t think that my prayers and praises kept the earthquake from happening. But it was a good exercise for me.

David tells us he gave praise with his whole heart. I remember a television sitcom where one of the women in the show was trying to tell the man she was dating that she wasn’t the girl for him. It went something like this:

Girl: Do you remember taking a girl to a dance and she just wanted to be at that dance.

Guy: Yes.

Girl: Do you remember taking a girl to a dance and she wanted to be with you?

When we give praise, we should be thankful to God or what he has done for us. Our joy should come from knowing that God cares about us. Yes, he does things for us—heals, answers prayers, guides us through difficulties—but we are to worship and praise Him for who He is and not just for what He does for us.

When we praise God, the passage tells us to tell of His marvelous works. If we were to compile a list of the Lord God’s works, we would have a very long list.

The shepherd king then tells us he will be glad and rejoice in God. Yes, we should rejoice and be glad for who God is. The apostle Paul tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again, I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4 KJV) We should be thankful for His deeds every time we awaken in the morning. I find this passage interesting in that Paul was in prison when he wrote to the believers in Philippi.

Several of our ladies at church are reading the book 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. A friend encouraged her to record the gifts God gave her. She discovered God is very close to her and her family. In her book, she encourages us to keep a journal of the gifts God gives us each day. We have discovered that God gives us more than we realize.

As a writer, I prefer peaceful and quiet surroundings. Every once in a while I have to praise Him for the relaxed atmosphere of our home, and our back yard. I find it becomes easier and easier to give God the glory He deserves when I give thanks for who He is and what he has done for me.

What do you have that you thank God for?

Do you keep a praise journal to record them?

"Today's Little Lift" from Jim Bullington

Peace Equates to Comfort (12-29-10)