Praise, Really?
God likes to hear us tell Him how great He is. Why is that? Do we serve an attention-seeking, jealous God? The short answer is yes.[i]
Our disdain for people who need continual reassurance of their greatness can easily extinguish our zeal for praising God.
But God is not “people.”
There was a long period in my life (years), as a Christian, where I could not embrace the idea of praising God. It was with long-suffering that I persevered through the praise part of the church service. I was bored and distracted. I would focus on the flaws in the music or the poor audio mix. I secretly liked being a little late for service to shorten the trial.
During this time, I was a believer. I was seeking His kingdom. But I had yet to discover the secret of praise, perhaps because I wasn’t seeking it specifically. Perhaps praising God is a well-hidden secret. I had decided in my heart that praise was something that other Christians did, but I didn’t need it. I didn’t want it. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t want to. I liked those teachings about humility, and prided myself on not being too prideful. Deep down somewhere, I wanted God to be humble, too. But God is hard to change. Pride… What a disaster.
These days, I consider the heartfelt praise and worship of God as one of the most important and useful truths that can be discovered by a believer seeking the kingdom. I’m so excited about it. I’m praying that my partnership with the Holy Spirit in writing these words will help you, the seeker, discover this life-changing knowledge of the core truth regarding praise. I hope it doesn’t take you as long as it did me.
What is praise, and why do we do it?
Those of us who attend church have all heard the sermon where the preacher points out how we enthusiastically cheer for our favorite sports team. Sometimes, we do this while sitting in an outrageously expensive seat in a stadium full of like-minded fans. We root for our team's victory. We root. I guess that means we yearn, think positive thoughts, and attempt kinesis. We try to “think” the ball into the end zone. In hearing these sermons, we get it. Cheering is praise. We wear the team jersey to the sports bar for pizza, beer, and praise. This, of course, begs the question: Why not praise God just like we do the home team?
I’ve endured this teaching over and over again. I get what praise is. I had an intellectual understanding of it. But it was not a natural thing for me to translate my excitement for my favorite team to any sort of excitement for my God. It’s not the same.
It is easy and natural for me to tell a friend how much I love my new “something.” It’s just the best, and let me explain why in great detail. It is absolutely the very finest. And, that you, too, should embrace my enthusiasm, and agree with me on every fine point of praise for this (whatever). It is worth every penny and every sacrifice necessary to have, own, and experience it. I love this (whatever). Let me show you my new Benchmade pocket knife. It’s the real deal!
A few years ago, I gave my wife (and me, too) a Christmas gift: tickets to a For King and Country concert. We were in our premium seats in the arena. There was an “electricity” in the air as all 5,000 of us anticipated the concert. I started a conversation with the guy behind me, a stranger. He quickly shared that this was his seventh time seeing the musical group For King and Country and that they were just the best; he loved their performances. He was wearing a For King and Country T-shirt. His belongings were in a bag sporting the band’s logo. He was a true fan. The man stood and watched, listening to the music for the entire two-hour performance. So did my wife and I. It was great! Now, I’m a fan, too. I share the story of how wonderful this concert experience was with anyone who shows the slightest interest. I even share it with those who show no interest at all. It seems that the joy of the thing is made complete in me by my enthusiastic sharing with another human of how joyful it was.
Praise is the completeness of the thing. We praise the things we love. We love the things we praise. I believe this is a “feature” of the way God created us. It is built into our design.
God revealed this core truth whilst I was reading a book titled Prayer by Timothy Keller. In chapter 12, Keller quotes C.S. Lewis’s book, Reflections on the Psalms. Lewis writes, “We despise the man who requires continuous assurance of his own virtue, or delightfulness… It almost seemed as if God were saying, ‘What I most want is to be told that I am good and great.’” Lewis goes on to write, “Praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.”
I was four years old when Lewis wrote these words. I had the “aha moment” while reading his words at 70.
Why does God desire such a thing as praise?
The short answer is that we are commanded by God to love God. And, we were created to praise what we love as the completion of that love. So, no praise, no love. Which violates the first commandment.[ii] That’s it. Simple. God wants – no - He commands us to love Him. He wants us to praise Him. Same thing.
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.[iii] This is the first and greatest commandment.”[iv]
This commandment, like all of them, is for our own good. Our benefit. God doesn’t need our love. He tells us that we need to love Him. He wants us back in the intimate relationship with Him that He first envisioned when He created us in the garden. Loving God first is one of the rules we try to live by in order to seek first His righteousness. The better we are able to do this, the happier our lives become. Additionally, we receive eternal life, and the opportunity to partner with God in saving souls. Our legacy will be blessed by God for a thousand generations.[v] We get these, and so many more promises, even more so when we don’t do it for the benefits but we do it because God asks.
But, it’s not easy to love God all the time. Seekers of His righteousness will try their best. Remember, by design, you will praise what you love, and love what you praise. This is a great secret to know.
How do we praise?
What does all this God praising really look like? I ponder this question with my fingers on the qwerty keys, not raised in the air. I think that the answer is much too big. The answer will fill volumes. Many have written on the subject, including the other David, the psalmist. I may have a glimpse of some of the answers, but praising God feels more like a journey to me. It’s a bit like being a freshman in school. You study and learn the material. You know that what you are learning is only part of what you will need to know to graduate. You have to learn today’s Calculus I to be able to master next semester’s Calculus II. And, there are six more math courses to master before graduation. And, that’s just Math. There are 12 other subjects. To me, praise is kind of like that. Praise gets better as you do it and, as you do it, you better understand it. To be successful with praise, you have to have a certain posture of the heart and a certain trust that your journey is worth the effort. And, as you go along, you will get more confident, more successful, more of His righteousness in your life, and more “happy life.” Not just for you but also for those around you. Your children, and their children, and their children for a thousand generations. But don’t do it for the promises. Just seek Him and His Kingdom first.
Who knows? Maybe you will eventually be one of those people who raise their hands during praise time. Is that God smiling?
1Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 2Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 3Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
(Ps. 105:1-4 NIV)
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This blog is an excerpt from David’s book, The Whispered Shout, Chapter 10.
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[i] Deuteronomy 5:9 “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” NIV
[ii] Exodus 20:30.
[iii] Mark 12:30.
[iv] Deuteronomy 5:6-8, The first of the ten commandments.
[v] Deuteronomy 5:10.
