“Let evry thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”  (Psalms 150:6)

 

I enjoyed a Wednesday evening Bible study at Lighthouse Bible Church with Pastor Ronald Ruben, and some of the members from the church. It is always time well spent. He was speaking from Revelation 19 this evening and he spoke about praising God. We would like to pick up that theme and write upon praising God.

The topic, subject, doctrine of praise to God is replete through the Word of God. All the men in women that know God gave Him praise for they saw Him worthy thereof. They also could not help themselves from praising God. The Psalms is all about the praise of God. The epistles in the New Testament direct us to give praise to God. I would make a bold statement, Those in a right relationship with God, praise is a natural act and attitude. Praise, like prayer, should flow freely from the Christ-ian. One who walks with God and lives in a state of prayer, will find himself/herself praising God more than confessing sin and seeking things from Him. One will find one’s self thanking instead of asking.

Praising brings about joy:
Nahum, the prophet, said, “the joy of the LORD is my strength.” David made similar statements. I have found this to be very true. Some think that anger is an emotion that gives strength, but it is written, “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” When one praises and worships God one experience joy from the Lord and joy in the Lord. This joy strengthens the believer in his ways, and in his works and gives meaning to his words. Praising God is the answer to unhappiness and sadness. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of life and there may be many, one should look to the blessings and name them ton by ton. This cannot but bring joy to the spiritually minded person. This is a spiritual pricnciple and or law.

Withholding From God:
If you are not a person of praise, this should tell you a few things about yourself.
1. Your walk with God is not what it should be or could be and what He would have it be. In the Old Testament we are told that Adam and Eve walked with God, Abraham walked with God, Enoch walked with God, Noah walked with God. We see that Joshua spent time with God, the judges had a closeness with God, David…well David, had something all together different with God. We find our Lord, in the Gospels, departing the company of others to walk with His Father. Paul instaed of using a ship to get to his destination would often walk. This was time spent with God. 2. Your Christ-ian life is not what it could be or should be or what He would have it be. 3. You are not very thankful for all that God is, For all that God has done for you, all that God does for you, or for all that He shall do for you.
Reader, allow me to meddle. Do you walk with God? Do you spend much time with God? Do you spend your day in constant contact with God? Is God always on your mind, regardless of what you are thinking about? Is God involved in your decision making or in your choosing? Does God find a place inyour discussions with others? Do you thank God for your lunch and do you allow others to see you praying. Reader, if you are not walking with God you are denying Him that which He deserves and is most worthy to receive.

Thy Will Be Done:
It is written, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What do you think those in heaven are doing? They are praising God by their very existence and presence in heaven. It is a priviledge to praise God and He honours us by accepting it. We are told by the Lord Jesus that God seeks worshippers and servants. Notice the order, (1st) first those to worship Him and (2nd) second those to serve Him. God wants praise and worship first then service. If you are not properly praising and worshipping God you cannot be properly serving Him. Worship and service go together like justification and sanctification and faith and works, and like Lord and Saviour.

How does one offer praise?
One may offer praise through prayer, and song. Praise is given by thanking Him and stating, “I praise you for or because…” We praise God for God being our God, we praise God for loving us and saving us. We praise God for His Son and all that His Son did. We offer praise to the Son for all that He did, does and will do. We praise God for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and we give praise to the Holy Spirit for hss Presence and guidance and all that He does for us and in us and through us. We can praise God for all His gifts. The gift of His Presence, the gift of prayer and answered prayer. We can praise Him for all the spiritual blessing He has bestowed so generously upon us. We can praise Him for the Fruit of the Spirit, and that He has made us partakers of the divine nature. We can praise Him for the whole armour of God that has been tailored to our exact fit. We can praise God for being our Refuge, our High Tower, our Rock, our Santuary, our Strength, our Stong Confidence, our buckler and shield. We can praise Him for all the precious promises that we hope in. We can praise Him for His Word, whereby He speaks to us.
Reader do you get the idea? We can praise Him for trials and tribulations, for good times and trying times, we can praise Him for red lights and green lights. We can praise Him for air conditioning and heating. We can praise Him for health and for the Family we enjoy. We can praise Him for the Chruch fellowship that means so very much to us. We can praise God for so very much and when we withold it from Him we steal from Him.

To Summarize:
If you are breathing you should be praising God.