Articles
PRAISE TO GOD
I recently read through the Psalms in my daily Bible reading. As I read each day, my
attention was drawn to the fact that the psalmists’ focus was on praise to God. I know, that
sounds like a silly thought, but each psalm praises God for His greatness, love, mercy, and yes,
even His vindication for wrongs done. Even though each psalmist faced difficult times in their
lives, the majority of each psalm is praise to God. David on the run for his very life, suffering
through physical sickness, concern for his family, yet filled with praise to God for His show of
power and love and care for the “insignificant.”
And as I continued to read from day to day, I began to consider our worship and praise to
the Lord. Do we praise God for His greatness and power? Do we acknowledge His creation and
changing of the seasons? Do we focus on His guiding hand through the good and bad of life? Do
we thank Him that He has given us another day—to praise Him!?
I fear that in our lives as Christians, the tendency of our thoughts may have become more
focused on the created, than the Creator. What would happen in our lives, if we focused our
words more to glorifying God and less focus on our infirmities? What would happen in our
worship, if our focus really was more about the Lord and less about us? These questions are not
so much about our personal needs, but more about the greatness of God and His wonderful love
for us. In fact, God has so much love for us that He knows our needs before we ever approach
His throne of grace.
A brief visit to the Old Testament and the “failures” of the Israelites will show us that much
of their struggles were because they took their eyes off the Lord and looked at their own personal
needs. Note the Israelites standing on the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptians hot on their
heels. Or, perhaps the Israelites longing for bread, meat and water in the wilderness. God
chastised them for their lack of faith and trust in Him. When we focus our praise on God, we
remove that focus from our lives and place it where it truly belongs—Almighty God!
~P. Mowrer
“I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”
~Psalm 9:1-2
