TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• One of the cool things about listening to Christian music is that every now and then, you read the passage that inspired the song. And it makes you feel like you have a passage memorized without even trying! (Yay! Win!) That was the case this morning when I read Psalm 136 and recognized the words from Chris Tomlin’s song, “Forever.” But the downside about listening to Christian music and reading the corresponding Scripture is you end up singing it in your head and get thrown when you realize the whole passage isn’t word for word. You are possibly left with an unresolved melody, an earworm, or a little of both. It’s okay, though—there are far worse things to have stuck in your head than a praise chorus!
As I read (hummed) Psalm 136, it struck me how the psalmists make praise to the Lord seem so effortless. They just went all in with their praise, even in the psalms of lament! And they did it so eloquently too! And I admit, I fall short. It’s so easy to jump right into our list of prayer requests without lingering on the prayers of praise God so richly deserves.
On one hand, it feels like praise is stating the obvious. God already knows all this stuff about Himself. But we don’t praise God for His benefit. We do it for ours. We do it to remind ourselves of His greatness!
When we praise Him from a genuine heart, it humbles us while simultaneously filling us with joy as we exalt our Lord and Savior! We feel moved and impassioned. It’s through praise that the wheels of momentum begin to turn as we serve Him, seek His will, and go out to the world to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
So, as Chris Tomlin wrote, “Sing praise! Sing praise!” And as the psalmist wrote, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).
Today, as you pray, thank God that He alone is worthy of all praise! Thank Him for the truth that He is good and that His faithful love endures forever! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with a spirit of praise! Ask Him to write the lyrics of praise and worship music on your heart… ask Him to guide you to Psalms of praise! Ask Him to help you embrace these resources as you seek to praise God every day!
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
