At the heart of every believer’s relationship with God is the requirement to praise Him. The first song in the Bible is essentially a song of praise and thanksgiving to God. This melody of praise was sung by the Israelites when they were crossing the Red Sea.
Why should we praise God? The first reason is at the beginning of Psalms chapter fifty verse twenty-three. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me….” Those who do not believe in God praise many different things. The call to praise God reverberates throughout the New Testament. Jesus Himself, who is the Son of God, gives glory to His Father in heaven in Matthew eleven, twenty-five, and Luke ten twenty-one respectively. In the end, the picture in Revelation is that of a great multitude of saints and angels praising God continually.
Praising God is one of the main functions of angels and is the privilege of God’s people. Both in the corporate worship setting and other places, the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is a way to express praise to God. Praising God can be with the mind or with the spirit. Praise expression can come through various musical instruments: For example, equipment like a horn, trumpets, and other wind instruments such as the pipe. There are string instruments like the harp and percussion instruments such as the timbrels and cymbals. We can also communicate God’s praise by telling others about God’s deeds.
Why do people praise the Lord? Believers honor God because of the splendor, glory, majesty, and beauty He beholds. He is the one who created the heavens and the earth and to exalt in His holiness. The experience of God’s mighty acts, particularly His acts of salvation and redemption a reason to praise His name.
In doing so, we praise God for His unfailing mercy, grace, and love. We will also want to praise God for any specific acts of deliverance in our lives: rescuing from enemies or healing our sicknesses. God’s continual providential care and provision for us day by day, both physically and spiritually, is a powerful reason to praise and bless His name.
What happens when you praise God? The first thing that it benefits is the prayer life of a believer. Start prayer with praise. Not just a few words of praise but praise with music, worship, and adoration. Praising God changes the way we pray. It changes the way we see the Lord God from the inside out. Praise teaches us many lessons. It ushers in the presence of the Lord and brings Him on the scene. Praising God opens the gates of heaven and the doors of blessings. Praise dissipates worry and dilutes concern and fear. Praising God tarnishes sadness and magnifies goodness.
To glorify the Lord is one of the ways to excel in our faith. Praise capitalizes on what matters: God, He is the answer. Praising God is always the solution and brings us closer to Him. Praise is the key to opening the doors in our life. We are unable to walk without Him. We only can walk in love by walking in praise. Not praising is missing out on experiencing God.
When we start to praise, it will close one door and open another. It is the ignition that will start up the spiritual engine. Praise is the key to the door to joy, peace, love, and faith. Praising God every day will draw us closer to Him daily because it is powerful. Why? The reason is God inhabits our praises. He is right there in your moment of praise and shows up in a big way. Praise keeps you in His presence and sends negativity that includes fear and worry. The presence of God will give you peace when we submit to praising Him.
Even though praise is powerful, it can turn into a battlefield. The Word of God talks about giving a sacrifice of praise. For example, in the Second Chronicles verse twenty-two of chapter twenty, the people of Judah face conflict with the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir. The verse states, “And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” Praising God will bring Him on the scene and help take care of your present situation. However, He knows our hearts if we are sincere or not and will not tolerate deceivers. After all, God is the one that made us. He knows what is in our hearts and minds at all times.
Praise is not easy to achieve. It takes effort and diligence to get into it sometimes. The enemy will use distraction to slow us down when we get into praise. Thoughts and worries about the day will do their best to get your attention when you get into praise mode. We must push through it. Get your praise on despite the negative thoughts. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Praise louder if you need to. Thank the Lord for praising Him. Thank the Lord for Jesus. Keep thanking as it is part of praise. We can win the battle. The Holy Spirit will be our strength when our heart desires is to praise Him.
When you praise, your faith jumps up and down. The joy that generates praise is a force that will push through. Praising God will destroy walls. It tears down the walls of frustration, the walls of failure, the walls of self-shame, the walls of loss, and the walls of sadness. See praise as a destroyer of negativity. It takes things down, and it builds things up. It takes down the enemy and builds up your confidence in the Lord. It magnifies your vision of Jesus. It makes all things new and possible. It cries out the victory and sings of the love and blessings of the Lord. Praise is a game-changer. If you are looking for the keys to heaven, keep praising until the gates open!