Magnificent Prayer #232
Magnificent Prayer #232
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
Psalm 135:3 KJV
Have you ever noticed how much we are urged in the Bible to praise the Lord? It seemed to be almost the principal part of the worship of the Israelites. This is the continual refrain all through the Bible. I believe that if we counted we would find there are more commands given and more examples set for the giving of thanks than for the doing or the leaving undone of anything else.
From the teaching of Scripture it is evident that the Lord loves to be thanked and praised just as much as we like it. I am sure that it gives Him real pleasure just as it does us and that our failure to thank Him for His good and perfect gifts wounds His loving heart just as our hearts are wounded when our loved ones fail to appreciate the benefits we have so enjoyed bestowing on them. What a joy it is to us to receive from our friends an acknowledgment of their thanksgiving for our gifts, and it is a joy to the Lord to receive thanks and praise from us.
HANNAH WHITALL SMITH
Pray About It: The book of Psalms is full of admonitions to praise the Lord. And in the New Testament we’re told to give God thanks in all circumstances. The foundation for prayer is a humble, thankful spirit. Today, as you enter God’s presence, do so with thanksgiving and praise. He never tires of hearing it and we can never tire of offering it. It’s what we’re most commanded to do in the Bible—and it’s the most rewarding to obey.
This is not a time for trifling or joking or silliness or superficiality. Worship comes from roots that are too deep in God, and is meant to take root too deep in the human heart, and focuses so relentlessly on God himself that it has to be a seriously joyful (or joyfully serious) affair.
JOHN PIPER
From the book
