Why Praise

selective focus photography of pen

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. —Psalm 100:4 NIV

I was introduced to praising at my first Encounter, Living with Purpose, and I haven’t looked back since! Each morning, I take at least 5 minutes to begin my day (sometimes more because I tend to be a little wordy). Praising aligns my heart with God’s. It sets the trajectory of my day and keeps Him in His rightful place—ON THE THRONE!

Let me share some of the benefits I receive by praising:

  • God is present. He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).
  • You get to know God. You learn His character and His attributes. He embodies His names (shout-out to Andrea Grammer and her “What Does THAT mean?” Bible study). You also learn who He is not. This is for those of us who look at God through the dirty lens of our experiences and misperceptions.
  • Praising reinforces what you already know to be true. Something solidifies in you as you put pen to paper, and it allows the Holy Spirit the time and space to confirm and remind you.
  • God reveals your identity. He created us in His image (Genesis 1:27)!
  • It is an act of obedience. God’s Word literally tells us to praise.
  • God’s character is not dependent on what He does/does not do. You know the saying, “God is good all the time and all the time God is good!” His goodness is not because of what He does/does not do! Simply put—He is good! And that goes for you too. Who God says you are is not dependent on what you do/don’t do. You are who He says you are. That’s good news!!!

There is nothing to it but to do it! Choose to Soar has praise prompt cards that can get you started. You can also read Stormie Omartian’s book, The Prayer That Changes Everything, which describes praise in further detail. I highly recommend it! God will honor your sacrifice of praise and multiply it by leaps and bounds.

Picture of Christi Underwood

Christi Underwood

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