Praise

Everyone knows we are supposed to praise God. We have Praise and Worship Leaders in the church. Some churches call their choirs Praise Teams and our praise generally takes place along with music of some sort. If you study out the words used for praise in the psalms, you find that praise can include clapping, singing, shouting, dancing, raising hands, etc. It is a very expressive word and many churches today are experiencing a refreshing freedom in their praise. But, there is something about our praise that bothers me.

If my son brings home a good report card, I sit down with him and go over it. We'll talk about the A's he brought home in Math and Science and how important those subjects are to his future. We'll probably discuss any improvements he has made in other subject areas. I'll give him a big hug and tell him how proud of him I am. He wants to hear exactly what he did that was good and know that I noticed each thing. It wouldn't mean much if I just looked at the report card and said,"good card."

You see, praise is an act we do, not just a word we say. Yet there are many services where the leader will say, "Oh, just praise Him. Give God some praise." The people dutifully clap and lift their hands and say,"I praise you. Oh, God, I praise you. Praise the Lord...." We sound like a bunch of broken records. Please don't get upset as I'm not trying to criticize our services and there is a time when you are so overwhelmed by God that is all you can say. However, there is more to consider here.

One of the words for praise in the psalms is halal (haw-lal). In the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance it is number 1984 and means to be clear (orig. of sound but usually of color); to shine; hence to make a show, to boast and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causat. to celebrate; also to stultify (make to seem foolish).

Our praise ought to be clear. We ought to boast about what God has done in our lives. It takes some thought, but we also ought to be able to express what He is doing and what we are hoping He will do in the future. If the next time your Worship Leader tells the body to stand and give God a corporate praise, you stand and begin to say things like,"Oh God, you saved me when my life was a mess. If it weren't for you, I would have no hope for the future. But God, remember when my rent was two months over due and I didn't know how I was going to get it. I put my trust in You and You provided it. When my child was sick, You stayed up all night with us and he is so much better now. God, I just want to thank you for what You have done in my life. You are truly Jehovah Jirah, My Provider. I love you, Lord."

Once we can come to this place, not only will we be able to truly say we praised the Lord, but I also believe we will find ourselves entering a new relationship with God.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. (Psalm 100:4)

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3)

Let's become sensitive to the things God is doing in our midst and GIVE HIM PRAISE!

One of my friends, Jean from near Atlanta, had these thoughts. "we overcome him by the BLOOD of the Lamb and the word of our testimony". During praise if we thank God for what He has done for us which is the word of our testimony, then we are also overcoming the evil one at the same time.  :)

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