Obeying this decree from God will change our relationship with Him …

It can be easy for most of us to find something praiseworthy about ourselves, even if just in our thoughts. We’re less generous to heap praise on other human beings, something one leader finally considered to be his weakness …

The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments. Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment, then replied. “I’d give more praise,” he said.

One reason we can be stingy in expressing praise of others is we often misunderstand praise as being just another form of flattery. But real praise is an expression of our valuing someone else. C.S. Lewis offered this insight on the topic of praise …

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

As Christians, our greatest delight should be in God, yet in reality, He often is the one who receives the least of our praise. It’s become easy — and incorrect — to think that praising God is something we’re only supposed to do just a little on Sunday mornings, when, in actuality, praise should punctuate our relationship with God every day of our lives! Bruce Larson writes about how we even stifle our praise of God when, as His children we come together … to praise Him!

At a conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha, people were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren’t free to say “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord.” All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over one-third of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go.

No one is more worthy of our praise than God, and we should find our thoughts of Him generate the desire for unrestrained praise. Scripture decrees that God should be praised; observe how just these 14 verses that comprise Psalm 148 bellow a decree to praise God …

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children. Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones — the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!”

Making praise a real, daily part of our interaction with God can transform our relationship with Him. Our praise of God expresses His immeasurable value to us, and our joy and delight in Him. How very different that is than occasionally tossing heavenward some prayers for things we want or need as the only relational interaction with God in any given day. Skipping over making praise a central aspect of our relationship with God can actually do harm to that relationship, as Calvin Miller points out such negligence did for others …

I have never forgotten that Daystar began his Great Insurrection by frowning and skipping his morning Alleluias. It must have seemed minor at the time, but hell grows out of paradise gone sour. Joy is a discipline, and fallen angels were always those who grew negligent with their praise.

Have you grown negligent with your praise for God, or is that a robust part of your daily interactions with Him?

Scotty