Praising God

Praising God

“I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Psalm 34:1  (KJV)

There is nothing quite like praising God. When I think about it, I just smile and I feel my heart swell with such appreciation for all that He has done for me; and even now as I write this, I instantly go to praising Him.

As I think about praise, I think of one of the greatest examples in the Bible of praising God. It was done by King David. He was so unashamed in his absolute adoration for God. He praised God so sincerely and without inhibition that he ended up losing his clothes and you know what… he didn’t care he just kept right on praising God (2 Samuel 6).

Like King David, I aspire to be unashamed in my praise. I want to be stripped down and poured open when I praise.

It reminds me of the song “Take Me to the King” by Tamela Mann. All I want is to be taken to the King; I don’t have much to bring, my heart is torn to pieces, it is my offering. I think that is how praise should be given. Just you and your authentic heart worshipping our Lord and Savior for who He is. (Selah)

I think that is why I love the Psalms so much because in them I can really get a sense of just who God is from this beautiful collection of poems and songs and once I know who He is, I can’t help but praise Him.

When I look back at my life and all that God has brought me through, my soul just fills full of praise and I just can’t say “thank You, I love You Jesus” enough.

So that brings me to the question, how do you praise?

Now, I’m not an expert on praise…none of us are, but I do know that it should be done in complete sincerity and authenticity.

When I want to create an atmosphere for praise, I start with some anointed gospel music. I really love “Take Me to the King” by Tamela Mann, “Because of Who You Are” by Martha Munizzi and “I love You, Jesus” by Kirk Frankin. Now, this is not a complete list because I make it a point to listen to gospel music throughout the course of my day (especially at work), but I feel that it is important that the right ambience is created so that when you praise, God can come in and join you.

Then, I start to utter out who God is to me. He is my El Shaddai (my Lord God Almighty), Jehovah-Raah (my Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (my Healer), Jehovah Jireh (my Provider), Jehovah Shalom (my Peace). Again, this is not a complete list because He is just so much to me, but I wanted to share a few with you so that you can start to examine who He is to you and tell Him.

Next, I start to pray. Usually, by this point I am overwhelmed with emotion and start speaking in the spirit and once there, the spirit takes over; but when I am lucid or aware again of what I am saying, I make it a point to just really convey again my absolute love and total thankfulness to God for all that He is and for all that He has done and continues to do for me.

Now, please know this is not a complete list or instruction manual on how to praise. It is just an attempt to get you to examine how you praise or get you to praise (if you’re not doing it already) because God has been good to all of us and we should always want to share that with Him.

Heavenly Father, I can’t praise You enough for all that You are to me. I love and adore and thank You for everything. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen

 

-Nina Fortson