“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
This week, our focus is on The Praise of Prayer.
Psalm 34:1 says:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
That means no matter the answer, yes, no, or wait, we praise Him. When life is good, we praise Him. When life is hard, we praise Him. His praise is always to be on our lips.
1. Praise Him in the Victory
Psalm 34:4 reminds us:
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
When God answers prayer, when He delivers us, when He brings the breakthrough, praise Him! Every blessing is from His hand. Every victory belongs to Him.
The Israelites sang after the Red Sea, Hannah sang after God gave her a son, David sang after God delivered him from Saul. Again and again, the people of God praised Him when He gave the victory.
In Luke 17, when Jesus healed ten lepers, one turned back:
“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.” (Luke 17:15-16)
Don’t forget what He has done. Don’t miss the opportunity to give Him praise when He comes through.
2. Praise Him in the Pain
But it doesn’t stop there. Psalm 34 continues:
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
Sometimes life hurts. Sometimes prayers don’t get answered the way we hoped. But even in pain, God is still worthy of praise.
Job, after losing everything, fell to the ground in worship and declared:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
Paul and Silas, beaten and imprisoned, were found at midnight singing hymns to God (Acts 16:25).
Your greatest praise often flows out of your greatest pain.
3. Praise Him Anyway
Even when you don’t understand, even when the future looks different than you expected, even when your heart aches, praise Him anyway.
Paul wrote:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Habakkuk declared:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom…yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
That’s a choice. A posture. A sacrifice of praise.
The Cross and Our Praise
Ultimately, we can praise in victory and in pain because of Jesus. He bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our sins and crushed for our iniquities. Through His wounds, we are healed.
Because Jesus endured the cross, we can endure this life and still lift up His name in praise.
So whether you’re on the mountain of blessing or walking through the valley of tears, let His praise continually be in your mouth.
This week, take time to write down your victories and your pains. In both, choose to lift up praise to God.
If you’re ready to experience the power of prayer and take your next spiritual step, we’d love to walk with you. Plan Your Visit to join us in person, or Fill Out a Connect Card so we can pray with you. God is waiting, it’s time to draw near.
