Recording artist William Murphy recorded a song entitled “Praise is what I do”. The lyrics go something like this:
Praise is what I do when I want to be close to You.
I lift my hands in praise. Praise is who I am.
I will praise Him while I can. I'll bless Him at all times.
I vow to praise You through the good and the bad.
I'll praise You whether happy or sad. I'll praise You.
I love the lyrics to this song because the artist vows to praise God no matter what he is going through. It is easy to praise God when things are going smoothly but what about the tough times, when times are chaotic, can we continue to praise Him?
David reminds us in Psalm 34:1 that we should bless the LORD at all times; his praise should continually be in our mouths. I can take that even further as noted in Psalm 100:2 – let all that I am praise the LORD. May I never forget the good things He has done for me.
There are many reasons that we should praise God. First, and foremost, we should praise God because of who He is. He is Sovereign, worthy of praise as our Creator and Sustainer. Psalm 150 explains it best. We should praise Him in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds. Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with tambourine and dance. Praise Him with strings and pipes! Praise Him with sounding cymbals. Praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Indeed, praise the Lord!
Additionally, praising God brings us closer to Him as we focus on His goodness, mercy, and love. For God is truly a good God and He blesses us with brand new mercies each day because He loves us. Praising God allows us to fulfill our purpose in this world because each of us has a God-given purpose.
As we praise God, it draws us closer to Him in developing our relationship with Him. Praise helps develop the purpose that we have been given. We glorify God while serving others, which shows the love we have for Him. Therefore, let us always remember to praise the LORD for He is good and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 100:5). In closing, praise is what we should do and we should praise Him at all times. Indeed, praise the LORD!
