“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exalt in you; I will sing praise to your name, O most High.”
(Psalm 9:1-2, NRSV)
Praise lifts up the person who receives it, and also forces the giver to see with new eyes.
In a world filled with criticism, judgment, and condemnation, praise forces us to change the way we view the world. When we praise our neighbor, we bind together into beloved community. It draws us away from critiquing and encourages us to look for anything good, worthy, and uplifting. When we lift them up our focus changes.
We don’t praise God because God needs it. It is we who desire to be praised.
We need to know when we’ve done a good job.
We need encouragement.
We need to have our spirits lifted and acknowledged.
It is a mistake to project onto God the idea that God needs praise.
When we give thanks and praise to God, we are forced to look for God’s good work in the world, to look for moments and actions of God worthy of being exalted. When we praise God, it is not for God; it’s for us. In praise, we have changed our perspective from judgment, condemnation, and rebuke to exaltation and commendation.
Praise becomes a sacrifice when we are in the midst of especially difficult times, when we’ve experienced tragedy and heartbreak, and when the world seems bleak. Yet it is especially important to praise God in those times. It’s important while we deal with our own pain, we don’t let that pain completely turn us in on ourselves. So we look to God and offer our sacrifice of praise. As Job says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21, NRSV).
We may not understand how, but we will be changed by offering praise not only when things are going well, but also when everything seems to be falling apart.
Go out there exactly as you are, with whatever you are feeling, and offer praise.
PRAYER
Holy God, I praise you for the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I praise you for all that I have. Make me grateful for your many gifts. Show me the way of your son Jesus. Amen.