A pastor visited one woman who was ill in bed; over the last 6 months he had buried seven of her family members and now had just heard that the eighth, her beloved husband, was cast away at sea. The pastor asked, “Do not you fret at any of those things?” The woman replied with a lovely smile upon her pale cheek, “O, no! How can I fret at anything which is the will of God? Let Him take all besides: He has given me Himself. I love, I praise Him every moment.”

“Praise the Lord!” has become such a cliché in Christian circles but I sometimes wonder if we truly mean what we say. Amazingly praising God is one of the disciplines of our Christian faith and just as we are to pray without ceasing, we are to praise God continually. We are to offer praise as a sacrifice.

To praise means to commend, to express admiration for, it means to applaud, to speak highly of, to sing praises, to elevate something.

It is easy to praise God when He has blessed us, provided for us and protected us. In this situations praise does not really cost us anything because it the response to some action that directly benefits us.

But what about those times when things don’t work out your way? When your child dies or your husband leaves you? What about the times when the results come back positive? Those times when not an ounce of praise can come out of you? What do you do?

You praise the Lord continually. It is in these times that you offer up a sacrifice of praise, it is these times that it costs you to praise Him because everything within you tells you otherwise. Sacrifices are all about killing and slaughtering for a purpose. You have to kill your pride, kill your fears and anxieties and elevate God beyond the situation that is before you. It is these kinds of moments that bring you back to the real reason and focus of our praise. Jesus, the one who made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross at Calvary. It is in Him and through Him that we offer a sacrifice of praise to God. That is why we sing songs of praise to Him.

Purpose in your heart that in 2024 you will not be among those who complain and speak negative word of fear. Instead, purpose that the words of your mouth will be acceptable before God and praise shall always spring forth from your lips no matter the situation you are in.

What are some of the things you have complained about since the year begun?

When was the last time you sang songs of praise to the Lord apart from a church service or some kind of fellowship?

What reasons do you have to praise the Lord right now?