08.25.10
Praise the Lord
Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the bible says “ 1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.”
A simple message, yet, an extremely important message!
More often than not, when we come to God in prayer, it is to make a request of Him. In itself, there is nothing wrong with that, but where the mistake often comes in is that we get so caught up in making our requests that forget to simply praise Him. Christians should make a practice of coming to God to just praise Him and thank Him. Not asking for a single thing for ourselves, but just to give Him praise for who He is, what He has done and what He is capable of doing.
The passage says “great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” To have an assurance like that, based not on merit but simply based on His love for us is more than enough reason to praise God.
2 Timothy 2:13 says “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself.” The One who created heaven and earth has this abundant love for us. That is enough to praise Him.
Psalm 150 says “Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. It says “ praise Him for His acts of power, praise Him for His surpassing greatness.”
We can never know the mind of God, and as much as we think we know, we have not even scratched the surface. Yet, this great and mighty God has love for me, has love for us, despite how many times we fall short, when we rise, He’s there with open arms. He is worthy to be praised! Let’s make “just because” praise part of our daily worship because if we don’t, as Jesus said in Luke 19:40, if we keep quiet, the stones will cry out. May stones never be used to replace those that should be God’s true worshippers, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share your thoughts that you might encourage your brethren.
In Christ,
The handmaid at His feet.
Esaias said,
August 26, 2010 at 5:58 am
Solomon found favor with God like no king before or after him because he offered thanks long before he received anything. The art of “selfless-praise” has long been lost in the act of modern worship. Every time we so much as glorify God, it is only as a pre-cursor to the litany of requests about to follow. Yet if we remember nothing else then let us hold onto this-
In asking, we seek the hand of God; in thanksgiving, we touch the heart of God; but in praise, we see the face of God.
An extremely important, yet often discounted, element of prayer and worship. Well said, Handmaid. Well said indeed.
Anonymous said,
August 26, 2010 at 11:29 am
PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!! HALLELUYAH NICE ONE
Sodeinde Oluwafemi Soloshow said,
August 26, 2010 at 1:11 pm
D bible said, it is gud thing 2 give thnkz un2 d Lord, n 2 sing praise un2 His holy name,2 show forth his loving kindness in d morning n his fulnes diaof in d evening…
It is a gud thing 2b in d atmosphere of worship.
Ola Omowunmi said,
August 26, 2010 at 1:51 pm
halleluyah
Sheyi Harmony Faajiextra said,
August 26, 2010 at 8:21 pm
forever our benefactor…………….
Adegboye Samson said,
August 27, 2010 at 1:42 pm
let His gloty cover the earth by the virtue of our praise
Awonuga Victor Olufemi said,
August 27, 2010 at 1:42 pm
more of GOD word,thanks
Hannah Oluwaseyi Olajide said,
August 27, 2010 at 1:43 pm
yes ooo, his faithfulness endures forever & ever & ever
John Iluobe said,
August 27, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Halleluhah is an heavenly language, we need to sing HALLELUYAH