There are times that hit us all when we are “up against the wall”. What are you going to do when it seems like all else has failed? Why, it is time to PRAISE THE LORD! Yes, let the sacrifice of praise be heard from your lips even if you feel like you are living in the midst of barren straits!

Biblical Reasons for Praise

Even without a clear reason, we praise God for who He is. We praise Him because of His incomparable greatness. As the psalmist says, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised” (Ps. 48:1, nkjv). Although we may not feel like doing it at first, we can praise Him in any circumstance. In fact, we can command ourselves to do so: “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name” (Ps. 103:1, niv). After we get into it, our emotions change to match the reality of Heaven. We offer a sacrifice of praise and God anoints our hearts with peace, joy, and abundant worship.

Here are seven scriptural facts about our praise for God:

Praise is…

  • the place of God’s residence, where He is enthroned. (See Psalm 22:3.)
  • the way (“gate”) into God’s presence. (See Psalm 100:4; Isaiah 60:18b.)
  • the way to obtain His blessings. (See Psalm 30:11–12; Psalm 16:9; Acts 2:26.)
  • a “garment of the spirit” that brings justice and freedom  (See Isaiah 61:1–3.)
  • a spiritual weapon, a silencer of the devil, and a way to deliverance and victory. (See Psalm 50:23; Jonah 2:1–9; Acts 16:25–26; Psalm 8:2; Psalm 106:47; Colossians 2:15.)
  • a sacrifice. (See Jeremiah 33:11; Hebrews 13:15–16.)
  • often accompanied by physical expression. (See Psalm 63:3–4; 1 Timothy 2:8–9; Psalm 141:2; Psalm 149:3; Psalm 150:4.)

Praise sanctifies the atmosphere around the worshiper. Not only that, it clears out the residue of enemy interference. Through praise, individually and corporately, the Church can fulfill the words of Isaiah 52:1–2, shaking off oppression, condemnation, fear, and unbelief; waking up and putting on strength and beauty; being loosed of every burden and bondage, and sitting enthroned, like a queen.

Armed with nothing more than praise, the Church of Jesus Christ obtains a complete victory. “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14, nasb).

At the same time, praise is simple. It’s childlike. Children do not over-analyze anything. They have a lot of faith, and they take delight in simple pleasures. Even as it reaps a lot of different benefits, praise itself is not complicated. Jesus, quoting Psalm 8:2, said, “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth Your praise” (Matt. 21:16, niv).

When my faith has been tested, and the enemy tries to scream in my face – I just toss up a sacrifice of praise. When I feel alone and sometimes abandoned, I just go on a walk and take some time to sing praises to the Lord. It is child-like. It is not complicated. It does not take a Doctorate in Theology to do! You just have to lift your chin off your chest, quit looking at your self and your temporary problems, glance up to heaven and shout some praise to the One who first loved you.

Let Everything Praise Him!

Not only children praise the Lord. Their parents also praise the Lord. Aunts and uncles and grandparents praise the Lord. Famous people and “no-names” praise Him. Young and old; everybody praises the Lord God. (This is beginning to sound like a psalm you may have read….) Sunshine and gloom, day and night, mountains and valleys, puppies and crows, presidents and prime ministers… Even fire and hail….

Let’s just read through the biblical hymn of praise itself:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl;
Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children. (Ps. 148:2–12, NASB)

By my count, that Psalm enumerates seven things in Heaven and twenty three things on earth that are supposed to be praising the Lord – and that list is just meant to be a representative sampling, not a bounded set. All of those things (which is to say, all things) cannot praise the Lord in the same way, but they can all praise Him, and God expects them to do so.

God has given me breath to see another birthday – so I qualify! How about you! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Yes, let’s just praise the Lord!

Let Pure Worship and Praise Arise!
James W. Goll

(This is a tiny portion of one of chapters in the newest book The Lost Art of Pure Worship published with Destiny Image. If you benefited from this, then you will love the entire book!)