Praise! Every Day!

(Psalm 145:1-4 KJV) 1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

For years, I have heard preachers say, “There is power in praise!” I’ve said it several times myself. You know what? It’s true! Praise accomplishes more in a moment than worry does in a lifetime!

In reading this portion of Scripture, I was impacted by three observations:

• Praise builds momentum! Notice how the words of the Psalmist seem to build in intensity. I will extol… I will bless… Every day I will bless… I will praise thy name for ever… GREAT is the Lord… Greatly to be praise… His greatness is unsearchable! Once you get started praising, it just keeps building! However, the same is true of negativity. Once you start down the road of complaining, it sends shockwaves of pain throughout the spirit. Like a toothache, it controls every thought, and blocks the acknowledgement of anything good.
• The reasons for praise are never-ending! Did you notice the word “unsearchable?” It doesn’t imply that we should not search to discover His greatness. It just means that we will never uncover it all! Imagine that! We serve a God whose greatness is indescribable!
• Generations partner together to reveal His works. The body of Christ is at its best when the lines of generational preferences are blended to create a beautiful atmosphere of unity, in which the glory of God is witnessed! The church is always weakened when generations cannot agree on matters of the spirit.

Recently, Donna and I took our granddaughters on an overnight camp out. These two sisters couldn’t be anymore different. Both are beautiful in their own way, and they both approach things from their own perspective. Their actions manifest differently; each responding to activities based upon their age and personality. In watching them play together, I noticed how they made room for each others preferences. When they approached the activities with the primary objective of having fun, things worked out fine. But, when they wanted their own way–disregarding the needs of the other–their “fun level” suffered!

As the older sibling, Jovie has a responsibility to set an example for Harper. And, Harper has a responsibility to accept her guidance. When they “work” together at “playing,” life is much happier and more productive.

God is good. It is a good thing when we train ourselves to praise. Our mind can be taught to give priority to the positive things that flow into our lives through the hands of the Lord. Let’s start today! Whatever is on your schedule, face it with the realization that God is good, He is great, and He is fighting for us!

PRAYER: Father, I am so grateful for Your goodness. You have blessed me in so many ways! Help me to train my mind to consider the favor that I experience each day of my life and to declare it to every generation! Amen.