CE 1 YEAR: 36 Praise

Week 36

Praise

The habit of praise

The first Christians were devoted to “praising God” (Acts 2:47). When you think of essential habits in a Christian’s life, what comes to mind? Prayer, reading God’s word, going to church? Indeed, these are all important. But the NT constantly commands us to be praising God.

Christians are to overflow with thankfulness (Col 2:7), always be thankful (Col 3:15), devote ourselves to a thankful heart (Col 4:2), give thanks for everything (Eph 5:20), and continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise (Heb 13:15). It is God’s will for you to thank God in everything (1 Thess 5:18). “Everything” is a big word. It means God wants you to be praising and thanking Him at all times and in every situation!

Praising and thanking God is supposed to be as natural and constant to Christians as breathing. Unfortunately for too many Christians, COMPLAINING has become as natural and constant as breathing. But the Bible says: “Do everything without complaining” (Phil 2:14-15). Complaining is the opposite of praising. It’s not what dearly loved and blessed “children of God” do. Complaining is what the “crooked and perverse people” in the “world” do. In fact, complaining is so common in this world, that if you will stop doing this one thing, you will be “shining like bright lights in world.”

Why does God repeatedly command us to praise Him and be thankful? For the same reason He gives us other commands: to help us be happier and protect us from harm.

In Week 26 you were reminded that praise is your JOY button. The secret to “always be joyful” (1 Thess 5:16) is to give God thanks in everything (v. 18). PRAISE gives you a tremendous POWER in your life. You can always experience JOY if you choose to praise God no matter what is happening.

Not only does praise give you joy, but it gives God joy. God says in Psalm 50:23, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.” We honor and please God when we take time to thank and praise Him. Especially when life is painful. Remember how much glory and joy Job gave God when he praised God in the midst of his suffering (Job 1:20-22)?

The real key to increasing your joy and happiness is not changing any of the people or circumstances in your life, but increasing how often you thank God for every good thing you already have in your life. The habit of praise makes us happier.

But it also protects us from sin and harm. The Apostle Paul told us not to worry about anything. How can we do that? By praying about everything and thanking God for everything (Phil 4:6). Prayer must be joined with praise. Do not just focus on what you want God to change. Also remember to thank God for what He has already done.

What is the result of prayer and praise? The supernatural peace of God will protect your heart and mind (Phil 4:7). Protect you from what? The harmful sins of ingratitude and complaining and the damage that discouragement and depression can cause.

Praise protects you from ingratitude

Eve lived in a perfect Paradise. God had given her everything she needed to be completely and constantly happy. But the Devil tricked Eve into focusing on the one thing God would not give her. As a result, she completely forgot about all of the good things God had given her. She became ungrateful, and turned away from God.

When we do not recognize and thank God for all His kindness, it begins to distort our view of God and corrupt our heart. Because Eve failed to be thankful for all God had given her, she began to believe God was withholding good from her. She stopped looking at all the evidence that God loved her, and became focused on the Devil’s false evidence that God did not love her.

And the Devil is constantly trying to do the same in your life. He wants you to focus on the one bad thing you want to change in your life, and forget the 100 good things you can already enjoy.

How different would things have been if Eve had a habit of praising God? It would have protected her heart. Imagine when the Devil spoke to her, Eve quoted Psalm 103:2, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” If Eve had done that in the midst of her temptation to be discontent, the serpent would have been silenced and just slithered away. The Devil hates praise!

Unfortunately, the sin of ingratitude is very common. Remember the story of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-18)? In biblical times leprosy was a horrific disease that required you to leave your spouse, children, and friends and be an outcast from society (Lev 13:45-46). Think about how much Jesus blessed and changed the lives of those ten lepers! But only one of ten returned to thank Jesus. And He asked, “Where are the other nine?” Can you hear the hurt in the Savior’s voice? Do not be among the multitude of forgetful and ungrateful humans that take God’s goodness for granted. Make praise a habit of your life.

Praise protects you from discouragement

Life can be very, very hard. You will sometimes feel like you are living in darkness and oppression and will struggle with depression and temptation. What is the most powerful thing you can do at these times? Praise God! Giving thanks to God in everything (1 Thess 5:18) breaks the power of oppression no matter how painful your circumstances may be.

There is a great danger in your difficulties. The painful hardships and losses in your life can make you better or bitter. The primary difference between those two outcomes is whether or not you will praise God in the midst of your pain. This world is a very dangerous and painful place to live if you are not constantly praising God to protect your heart.

Praising God gets your eyes looking up on the blessings of Heaven, instead of looking down on the disappointments of Earth. Praising God reminds you of what is really important, and how GOOD God has been to you. When bad things happen we tend to allow them to darken our whole life. Again, humans have the tendency to forget the 100 things that are going well in their life, and focus on the 1 thing that is not. And this destroys their joy.

This is why the Bible constantly tells you to be GRATEFUL, because negativity is a cancer of your heart. God tells us to focus our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. To think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).

Such positive thinking is not just worldly psychology but a biblical command. Positive thinking is not just ignoring your difficulties. In fact, positive thinking is keeping your mind fixed on REALITY. The truth about your life is this Christian: no matter what is happening in your life, you have so much more to be thankful for. Always! So, in the painful places of your life, “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15)!

How do you praise God in everything?

When Paul wrote “give thanks to God in everything” (1 Thess 5:18), he shared a secret about the power of praise. That little word “in” means a lot. It means this: God is not expecting you to thank Him for everything. God is not expecting you to praise Him for the evil, hard, sad, and painful things that occur in your life. Even God is sad about many things that happen in your life. But IN every circumstance there are much greater things you can still praise God for.

What can we always thank God for? His unchanging and amazing promises. Like the promise that all of your sins are forgiven and you will never be punished in Hell for them. How about the promise that you are headed to a perfect Paradise forever? How do any of your difficulties compare to such wonderful gifts from God!

Fixing your eyes on what you will have on the New Earth, will empower you to overcome any loss on this Earth. Yes, God might allow you to lose someone or suffer something. But He has also forgiven everything you will do on this Earth and will give you everything on the New Earth.

Whatever it is that you are asking God for now, is worth mere pennies compared to the enormous treasures He has already given you. If God never does another thing for you, you still owe Him a lifetime of continual thanks and praise.

Practical application: In Week 33 the P.O.W.E.R. plan was suggested for you daily God Times. The “P” stands for praising God. There is no better way to start your God Time or your day (Ps 100:4)! Take the challenge to thank God everyday for seven things at the beginning of your God Time.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1. Why should praise be a habit in our life?
2. Have you or someone else experienced the power of praise in a painful loss? Or the bitterness that comes if we do not rejoice in our pain?
3. What does it mean to give thanks in everything instead of for everything?
4. What are some things we can always thank God for no matter what is happening to us?
5. What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?