To praise is to “express warm approval or admiration,” and what a fitting exercise for us to engage toward our Creator. Giving thanks is one thing, and giving praise is another—yet when it comes to the Father, I believe these two expressions totally go hand in hand. We are to express thanks, and we are to show praise. We can express this praise not only in our prayers but also out and about in our lives.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
When I’m praising Him in my own prayers, I always like to get really specific. What is it specifically about Him that you admire? Tell Him about it! To me, being specific in my praise has helped bring about a greater understanding of all the things He does for me—every single day. In my prayer journal, I try to give attention to praises much as much as I do of my requests. He is worthy of our praise, and it’s important for us to humble ourselves in front of Him and tell Him how great we think He is! It’s an act of worship to praise Him at His feet!
Looking at our verse today from Psalm 86, it really puts into context what the Lord does for us through salvation made possible by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Without Him, we are destined for death. With Him, we are destined for eternal life. Having grown up in church—I feel like it’s easy to become numb to those words, but we should strive never to become numb to that fantastic feat.
Having been a bit closer to death in the past few years than I’m even comfortable admitting—that life that comes through the Father means even more. It feels closer to my timeline than I would have ever imagined. I hope that I never lose that mindset. It’s important to remember what went into creating a setting in which we could be saved.
We have been truly rescued from death, and we must never lose sight of that.
Staying humble is key to keeping our vision squarely on our Father. We must recognize our weakness and our inability to accomplish anything without His grace and power in our lives. We must also give back what we have been given. We must share the harvest of what He planted and grew within us. It’s imperative.
Providing help and offering support to others who have had similar struggles as we have had shows praise and thanks for our own deliverance! This praise strategy also enables us to use our talents and experience that God has provided us to further His kingdom purposes in addition to having a great point of witness to reach people with whom you have things in common. An effective witness is a big deal! Recognizing the gifts we already have can be monumental in connecting with an effective witnessing outlet.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-2
Pay it forward—praise it forward! He is so worthy of our admiration and our praise! He delivers from the depths of death! Talk about a hero, y’all. <3
I am Jessamyn Orchard (@jessamynorchard), and I am a former youth pastor, worship minister, and church lay leader, who graduated from a Christian college. Most recently, however, I’m an addict in recovery who rededicated my life to Jesus about 6 months ago. I was raised in church, and saved at age 12, but I did a lot of straying over the past 10+ years, falling into pits of sin through addictions and self-pity. I’m no authority, just a believer in a big God and called to spread His word through as many conduits as present themselves to me. Fumbling Toward Jesus is a multi-media ministry campaign and includes a written blog of daily devotions on Steemit and an accompanying monthly podcast on Anchor.fm, and it represents years of study—both over the years and lately, and now combined with a whole load of human experience. I’m just a super nerdy sinner saved by a really awesome grace.
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Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Any bold or italics used in scripture quotation is of my own emphasis.
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