One of the first “Christian” phrases I heard was “Praise the Lord”! (Shortened to PTL! In the Jesus Movement). It was very contemporary at the time, but it was also one of the oldest phrases in our faith. The Psalms are full of admonitions to “Praise The Lord”, and we Christians talk about this all the time.
We talk about it.
We even say the phrase sometimes: “Praise the Lord!”
We just don’t do it very often.
Saying “Praise the Lord” is no more praising Him than saying “Sing” is singing. Numerous times I have pushed this issue to try to get people to move beyond the church words. Praising is complimenting. It is pointing out the good things about another. So, praising God is complimenting God. Telling God (or others) how awesome, creative, powerful, loving, faithful, limitless, etc. God is. Each time I teach on this, I emphasize that praise is NOT about us, it is about God. It is NOT about what God has done for us, it is about who he is. Then I invite people to praise God. Without fail, someone quickly says
”Thank you God for…”
Now, thanking God for what he has done in our lives is great—even necessary. But the focus is on us and what he has done for us. Not Him.
The focus of praise is Him.
And we’re commanded to praise Him!
Why? Does God somehow need our praise? Is he that insecure (that’s a quote from a non Christian friend)?
No. He doesn’t need our praise. We need to praise Him.
He knows who He is and who we are. We tend to forget.
He knows how important it is that we are reminded of how great and powerful he is to put the right perspective back into our lives.
We don’t.
We think about ourselves. We focus on what God has done, is doing, will do—for us.
We think life is about us.
It isn’t. It is about the one who created life, and created us to enjoy life in relationship with Him.
When we remember this, our lives are immeasurably improved.
Praise the Lord.
in Christ, Randy
I don't understand one statement you made. The whole flow seems to direct us to praise God by telling God & others about His attributes & character. But you write,"It is pointing out the good things about another." Is it? Wouldn't that statement circle us right back to self-focus?
On the other hand, as a Christian artist for 19 years & the myriad of churches we've done shows at, I've seen way too little in the way of thanks to those in service to Him at a high commitment level. Even to the point where some just fall by the wayside in terms of serving simply because they weren't acknowledged. The Christian life is a team effort & we need to uplift one another, particularly since this part of the Christian life is an "away game!" – Bruce Hofstetter
I'm not sure what you're saying. I don't see how focusing on another brings us back to ourselves? As for the need for Thanksgiving, I think I agree with you in part. We do need to be thankful for one another and expressing that is encouraging, though I'm sure you would agree that no one serving the Lord does it for others' thanks. As you pointed out, they wouldn't continue in that service long. That said, this post is about worship–how we focus on God, not each other. My point is simply that true worship can't be focused on us, it must be focused on God. Thanking God is certainly part of that, but I think we (the American church) are way out of balance between praise and thanksgiving.
Thanks for the clarification. Yes the American Church is out of balance twixt P&T! May we get back in that balance, Lord!
I know that I am very late in responding, but there is a reason for it. When I first read the post, I liked it and agreed with it, but for the last two weeks, I have not been able to get it out of my head. I remember way back when you preaching about the difference between Thanksgiving and Praise and I remembered thinking then that I really needed to study the difference because I know that all too often I think I am praising, when in reality I am offering my thanks. Not bad, but I am not truly praising and worshipping our Lord for who HE IS!
With this post and the fact that I have been "chewing on it" all this time, I think it is time for me to stop procrastinating and really learn how to praise. Thank you for once again for your teaching!
I know she is out of town, but when Donna gets back give her a hug for me (well, it is okay if you give her a few from yourself first!)