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PROGRAM W-1802 – Part II
There is one more very important reason we need to become praising people: I want to explore the topic of offering sacrifices of praise. The Bible talks about giving a sacrifice of praise. Listen to this verse from Hebrews 13:15:
Through Him [Jesus] then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (NASB)
What is a sacrifice of praise? The two words don’t seem to fit, do they? A sacrifice is something you give up, something you have to part with. Praise is a positive action. So how do sacrifice and praise go together?
I believe that a sacrifice of praise is the praise you offer when you cannot humanly see any reason for praising—when all your feelings and emotions are not praising God, but your lips are.
I first saw this when a good friend was going through an awful depression quite a few years ago. Without getting into the whole story, this totally-together man sank into a deep, black depression almost overnight, and those of us who knew and loved him couldn’t believe what we saw and heard. But God miraculously delivered him. As he was beginning to come back from that terrible siege, he said he would be on the train going to work and he would force himself to say verses of praise. He said it took everything in him to say them because he didn’t feel them. But he was able to continue to offer praise with his mouth.
Then he suddenly realized that this was a sacrifice of praise. Praising God with his lips when his heart didn’t feel it. Offering up praise when the circumstances were dark and bleak. Praising God in spite of the fact that he did not understand and he had no answers. That, I believe, is what a sacrifice of praise is. God worked such a miracle in his life. He became a transformed man—not just as good as before, but a man of increased faith and peace.
Have you learned the importance of offering sacrifices of praise? There is so much power in praising God in spite of your circumstances, in spite of your feelings, and in the midst of the turmoil of life. That is truly transforming praise.
Here’s the next question: How do we incorporate praise into our already busy lives? First we need to understand that praise can take many forms:
- It can be a formal time with others, such as church or meetings.
- It can be a quiet, holy time with God alone, such as our daily quiet times with him.
- It can be a joyous celebration, when you spontaneously rejoice over God’s goodness.
- It can be one-sentence thank you’s throughout the day—a continual awareness of God’s blessings.
- It can be singing a song, reading or quoting Scripture, sitting and thinking about God and his greatness.
- It is an attitude of your heart as you go through your day—that almost unconscious knowledge that though your mind is on other duties, your subconscious being is praising God for his goodness.
Here are some important things that will help you know how to praise God:
First, realize this: Praise is not a function of your emotions.
Praise is not a feeling! I don’t mean that we never have feelings when we praise God, but praise is not dependent on feelings. All through the Psalms, David kept saying, “I will praise”:
- I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness. (Psalm 7:17, KJV)
- I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:1-2, NKJV)
- I will proclaim your name to my brothers; I will praise you in the congregation. (Psalm 22:22, HCSB)
Over and over again, David set his will to praise the Lord. We don’t praise just when we feel like it. We don’t praise just when things are going right. We set our will to have a life of praise. This is really important to understand. You must learn not to let your emotions dictate your praise. Praise is done with your mind and with your voice. Usually the emotions will follow, but whether they do or not, you must set your mind to praise God.
Second, praise needs to be continuous.
We need to incorporate it throughout our day.
- I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1, NKJV)
- Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise and with Thy honor all day long. (Psalm 71:8, KJV)
You remember how Daniel had three specific times each day he set aside for prayer and praise? Well, we could do the same kind of thing. For example, you could prepare some cards with praise verses on them. Then put them by your bed and, before you roll out of bed, pick one up and say it out loud. Let it be the first words out of your mouth in the morning. Then have some cards at work, and sometime during your day, find a place where you can say a verse out loud. Then at night, the last words you say before you hit the pillow can be words of praise as you read aloud another of those verses.
Put verses where you can see them: over the sink, on your dresser, on your desk, on your screen saver—wherever you can see them often—and read those praise verses frequently throughout the day. Take ten-second praise breaks—it will change your whole day!
Third, praise must be intentional.
Praise is not automatic. If you want to become a praising person, you have to make it a planned, focused part of your life. If you don’t make it a priority and put it into your schedule, you’ll forget. Satan will see to that. Put reminders around you and determine to make praise a part of your everyday life.
Lastly, determine that your first reaction to everyone and everything will be praise.
For example, how can you praise God when. . .
- Your mate disappoints you in some way? Instead of nagging on him or her, praise God that you are never disappointed in Jesus. Praise God that even when you disappoint him, he still loves you. Praise God that you have a mate. Praise God that he will give you the power to overlook your disappointment.
- Your boss treats you unfairly? Instead of talking about the boss to everyone else, praise God that you have a job. Praise God that no one is in your life by accident and God can make even bad situations work out for your good. Praise God that he gives you the patience and endurance you need. Praise God that he can be glorified even in these situations.
- Your health report is not good? Instead of worrying, praise God that he is the Great Physician and nothing can happen to you that is not filtered through his hands. Praise God that he is in control of your body. Praise God for medical help.
- Your financial situation is dismal? Instead of declaring bankruptcy, praise God that he will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. Praise God that even though you’ve not been a good steward of your money, by God’s grace, you can become one and God will help you. Praise God that your future is in his hands.
- Your dream dies? Instead of living in regret, loneliness, or hopelessness, praise God that his ways are higher than your ways and his plans for you are better than your own. Praise him that he makes all things work together for your good. Praise God that he is sufficient for all your needs.
Get the idea? Because as a Christian you have Holy Spirit power, you can do what otherwise you would never do or even want to do. Praise God all day long—for everything and in everything.
Do you feel like Satan has been defeating you on every hand lately? Is he robbing you of blessings and peace that God has intended for you to have? Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praise of his people. This means that where there is praise and adoration of him, there he openly manifests his presence. He takes up residence in the praise of his people. And his powerful presence always makes Satan run the other way. Satan cannot abide the presence of the living God. So, praise God; he will inhabit your praise and your enemy will flee. Satan is allergic to praise.
To help you become a praising person, we have prepared praise verses for you to use—three times a day, like Daniel. There are three verses for you to use each morning first thing, three verses for you to quote throughout the day, and three verses before you go to sleep at night. These will help you to become intentional about praising God consistently. You can print these out from our website, or contact us and we’ll mail them to you. I just want to help you put into practice this powerful, life-changing principle of praising God all day long. As David put it in Psalm 34:1, to bless the Lord at all times and let his praise continually be in your mouth. As we are reminded in James, the blessing comes in the doing, so I’m praying you’ll be doers of this word and not hearers only (James 1:22).