“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” ~Psalm 146:1-2
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” ~Deuteronomy 6:4-7
This morning I was sitting with Boaz on the floor reading some of a short book that has bedtime prayers in it. As we read, a couple of different things in the book (a portion of the verses above were included) along with what the LORD has been reminding me of recently formed an idea in my mind: What if we made praising the LORD a normal and routine part of our day? I know, I know, it’s not an original idea and it should already be a vital part of our lives. We do thank the LORD and praise Him for various things, yet, do we really take the time to specifically (and verbally) name the things that God has done and then give Him praise for them?
I’m thinking back to Deuteronomy at this point… From this passage and others, it is clear that the Israelites were to incorporate their lives around reminders of who God is, what He’s done, and what He’s commanded. It wasn’t just to be a routine that they engaged in at certain times and certain places; no, this WAS their life and teaching it was the single most important responsibility that they had towards their children. After all, they were called and chosen to be the people of God!
If you and I know and abide in Christ and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, how can we have any less high of a calling? Read through the New Testament and you will find that we are to be to the praise of His glory, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, the light-bearers of the Light of the world! Not only should praise be our heart cry and thankfulness our attitude, but our lips and actions should be the exhibitors of His glory and goodness. Proclaiming His wondrous works and telling our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and everyone else of His faithfulness to us ought to be our first priority.
Here’s the challenge (I think I will be elaborating on it as part of my sermon tomorrow): Begin to cultivate an environment of praise and thankfulness in your life and home by specifically discussing the works of God at least three times each day (for starters). These works could be those of the long past (Biblical history through your parents’ lifetime), your past history (birth through yesterday), or things He has done today. Then, give God the praise that He is due with your words right then and through your words and actions as you go about the rest of your day. He is always good and He is always at work, so the only problem will be if we don’t choose to take advantage of His grace and Spirit’s power. 🙂
The LORD is worthy of our every breath. Isn’t it time we start prioritizing His praise in our lives?