Let’s talk about praise!

The importance of praise is reinforced throughout the Old and New Testaments. Praise and worship are wonderful in and of themselves. Entering into praise and yielding in worship is something we never fully exhaust. God is so rich, and entering into His presence to sing about that goodness, especially as we’ve experienced it, can be hard to put into words.

There is LIFE in praise.

And the Word doesn’t leave us guessing about what that looks like.

Let’s start in the Psalms, the book of praise:

Psalm 98 1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8 Let the floods clap [their] hands: let the hills be joyful together. 9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Psalms:150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

My mother used to praise God anywhere, with an arm thrust up in the air and tears streaming down her face. In the middle of the grocery aisle? Sure. In the middle of a conversation? Absolutely.

I didn’t “get it” before; I’d just leave her to it. But now I understand completely.

Sometimes the goodness of God overwhelms, and sometimes it’s our circumstances that overwhelm. And in those moments, there is God. Recalling, sometimes loudly and demonstratively, how good He has been, or bringing to mind His promises and remembering that He has shown up and pulled you through before, and will do it again, brings strength to both situations.

Praise ushers in the joy that sustains and carries you through, and from that place, you experience the depth of praise.

Praise is not just something we do in a moment. It is a response to a call, a prompt from the Holy Spirit. It is the heart turning toward God and giving voice to what is true about Him. It is remembering, declaring, and agreeing with who He is, who He is to YOU,  and what He has done.

And this is where it connects to how we live.

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). That is our present reality. That is what we have been brought into and where we abide in Him.

But the heart can be pulled in different directions. Circumstances, thoughts, and feelings are continually speaking. And if left unchecked, those things become what’s focused on rather than the goodness of God and the exceeding great and precious promises He paid such a high price for us to have.

Praise interrupts that.

We enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. As we turn toward Him, we become aware of His posture toward us, and we experience it, and He responds. He inhabits that praise, and His presence is made known in a way that is not distant or abstract.  Scripture says He rejoices over us and even sings over us (Zephaniah 3:17). It is our relationship with Him being expressed.

Our hearts come back into or become more closely aligned with Him and His heart for us. Bringing His goodness, His faithfulness, and His promises back into view.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name… forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1–2).

Praise is remembrance. It does not deny what is happening or pretend that circumstances are not real, but it refuses to let them have the final say. In that, it becomes a powerful way of standing when everything else is pushing back.

Praise, and praising Him continually, is part of our life in Him. The Word speaks of rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). It speaks of offering the sacrifice of praise continually (Hebrews 13:15). This is not about making a constant noise. It is about a heart that remains turned toward God.

As we continue in praise, there is an impact on our hearts.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

The heart’s condition is influenced by what it returns to, what it rehearses, and what it gives place to. Praise brings the goodness of God, His faithfulness, and His promises back into view again and again and again. It keeps those things before you and keeps you receptive to joy.

“Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24).

Praise helps you do that. It keeps your heart steady, responsive, and aligned with the Word planted in your heart by faith.

Praise is also part of communing with God, where prayer, the Word, and praise are interwoven into the fabric of daily fellowship.

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD… to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” (Psalm 92:1–2).

Sometimes quietly. Sometimes loudly. Sometimes with laughter, and sometimes in the middle of a grocery aisle with an arm raised and tears streaming down your face.

But it’s all the same thing: a heart turned toward God, giving voice to what is true.