Why We Praise

Bottom line

Our default setting as disciples of Jesus should be an attitude of praise and thanksgiving. It is what sets us apart from the world.

Opening Line

after song

Ok, I’m actually going to stop things right there.

Introduction

So I’ve been watching you all this morning. Some of you were praising and singing along. Some had their hand lifted up. Some of you were really getting into it.

But some of you weren’t. Now I don’t want you to get defensive or give me all your excuses as to why. I’m not criticizing or condemning anyone, I’m simply stating what I was observing.

Main Point

The reason I was observing is that I felt really strongly that I need to take a Sunday to talk about praise. We’re kind of in between series, just coming off a couple guest speakers, and so it just fit to put this message here. So this morning I want to walk through some of the questions that some of you might have. Why do we start our worship times with singing? Why do you need to praise God? These are actually really important questions so I’m glad that you are asking them. Maybe some of you have been part of church for so long that you’ve never stopped to question why we do it; it is just what we do. It is what has always been done.

Why it matters

There’s actually a bigger reason I want to touch on it. Like the title slide said, what happens when I don’t feel like praising? I would say this is a common experience, especially when life gets stressful, or the distractions start to mount up. It becomes even more important on those days when you really don’t feel like praising, so you don’t come to church at all. One of the things that I want to sugget to you this morning is that when you don’t feel like praising God and singing to him, those are the times you need to praise him the most. But that brings us back to the question: How do I praise God when I don’t feel like praising him?

This morning I’ve got 6 reasons that you praise God, and I’ve even got some pointers on how to worship him. When I’m done, I’m going to call the praise team back up to lead us. Notice I said praise team and not worship team, and I’ll unpack why a little later.

Scripture

1. Because He is a great God who is worthy of our praise

Psalm 96:2–5 NLT

Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens!

Psalm 103:1–5 NLT

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Psalm 103:8–10 NLT

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

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These are simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how great our God. We could sit here and read from the Psalms all morning about how great our God is. He is worthy because of all the good things he has done for you and for me. His goodness and mercies are new every morning.

It is important to start here because no matter how hard things may get, how confusing or unfair life may feel, God is still good, and he is completely worthy of all your praise.

2. Praise is an appropriate sacrifice to give to the Lord

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

Psalm 50:14 NLT

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.

Psalm 50:23 NLT

But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

Hebrews 13:15 NLT

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.

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So praise is something that you offer to God as a gift. The picture that the Psalmist and the Old Testament authors are trying to make is the idea of approaching a king. In the ancient times, you didn’t approach a king empty handed. You brought a gift, and in regards to you approaching the King of Kings, praise and thanksgiving are an appropriate gift to bring.

Speaking of entering the presence of God.

3. Through praise we enter and experience the presence of God

This is really interesting. God is worthy of our praise, and he is completely worthy to be given an offering of praise. Yet, in his infinite goodness, God the Father has actually designed it that praise and thanksgiving actually benefits us.

Psalm 27:8 NLT

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Psalm 100:4 NLT

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 16:11 NLT

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

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This is where we start to answer the question, what if I don’t feel like praising God. Well, the reason you don’t feel like praising is because you are tired, you’re stressed or anxious, or any number of reasons can contribute to that feeling. What the Psalmist is saying here is that when you feel that way, it is actually when you need to praise him the most and enter his presence. Once you enter into the presence of God, you begin to experience his goodness. He fills you with life when you enter his presence. Along with that...

4. We experience peace and the joy of the Lord through praise

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Romans 15:13 NLT

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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When you are praising God, the anxieties of life have to fade away. In fact, there have been recent studies that show the benefits for the brain that comes from praising God regularly.

It strengthens the Empathy Center, making you more resilient to stress

It quiets the fear center, leading to lower levels of anxiety and stress

It stablizes your mood, and when done with a group, it fosters a deeper sense of connection and trust.

it strengthens the prefontal cortex, the part for high-level decision making

It rewires your brain to notice positive stimuli more quickly than negative ones

So the summarize, making a regular practice of praising God in your life makes you more resilient to stress, lowers anxiety, stabilizes your mood, creates a deeper connection with you church community, strengthens your decision making, and helps you notice positive things more quickly than negative ones. Pssh, who wants any of that?

Some of you are like, you had me at less anxiety.

So when Paul says that we are to be anxious about nothing, but pray about everything and thank God for what he has done, he wasn’t crazy. It legitmately helps, because you are created to praise and worship God. Maybe the reason you are experiencing those negative emotions is because you are not praising God enough.

So when you praise God, you experience his presence more fully and you epxerience his peace and joy. Which leads to the next point.

5. Praises increases our faith to pray expectantly

In the Romans passage, Paul said you will be filled with joy and peace by the God, who is the source of hope. As you experience peace, joy, and hope in increasing measure, it begins to strengthen you.

Isaiah 40:30–31 NLT

Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

2 Corinthians 3:12 NLT

Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.

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When you are filled with joy and hope, your faith is strengthened to pray with boldness and expectation. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m done praying wimpy prayers. Jesus said that if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to the mountain to be picked up and thrown into the sea. I want that kind of faith, and I want that kind of faith for you.

Back to the question, what if I don’t feel like praising God today? I want to suggest to you that it is through praising God that you will find the faith to pray for change in your situation. The less you feel like praising him, the more you need to!

6. Praise is a spiritual weapon against the forces of evil

I have two stories for you this morning that really highlights the power that praise has in defeating your spiritual enemy.

The first is in 2 Chronicles 20. King Jehoshaphat has assembled the armies of Judah, and they are looking at a mass horde in front of them. Jehoshaphat turns to God in prayer, admitting that he’s afraid. God responds by telling him to not be afraid because the Lord would fight the battle.

2 Chronicles 20:21–22 NLT

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.

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The physical army was defeated because the spiritual enemy had scattered before the praises of God’s people.

The second story is much like it. In 1 Samuel, Saul has turned his back on God, and as a result he is being tormented by an evil spirit. But

1 Samuel 16:23 NLT

And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

Psalm 8:2 NLT

You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

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One of the questions I said I would answer this morning is why we start our worship gatherings with praise. I am being very intentional with the word choice there. Everything we do on Sunday morning is worship, not just the singing. In fact, the Apostle Paul says that everything we do in lie, even our eating and drinking, should be done to the glory of God.

So the team that leads us in singing is the praise team. We start with praise because it brings us into the presence of God, but it is also the weapons of our spiritual warfare. We actually push back the forces of darkness through our praise. I would say it is also why, if something is going to go wrong in the morning, it is going to be the sound.

I would add that is the reason you may have trouble praising in the morning. It is why so many fights break out, or why you can be so picky about the songs. Your spiritual enemy doesn't want you to praise, so he will create every excuse to prevent you from praising wholeheartedly.

Which makes it the very reason you need to praise him, not just on Sunday, but every day. Just like reading your Bible daily, you need to make time to praise the Lord. Your spiritual enemy, the temptations of the world don’t take a day off, so why wouldn’t you take up the very weapons God has given you to beat back the enemy every day?

Transition to Application

So we have looked at the why you need to praise; the next question is how do you praise the Lord?

Main To Do

1. With your whole heart

Psalm 9:1 NLT

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

Psalm 111:1 NLT

Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

This just makes sense, as Jesus taught to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. So when it comes to praise, you praise God with all your heart.

2. You may speak, shout, or sing praises

While singing is probably the most intuitive because it is the one you practice the most in a church. But what about shouting?

Psalm 47:1 NLT

Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!

Ray Duerksen points out the irony that many in the West wouldn’t think twice about shouting at a sporting event or a concert, but recoil at the idea of shouting praise to God. This shouldn’t be. When you praise God, it should be triumphantly. You should want to be heard. It is also why we turn the music up during our praise time. We keep it loud so that you don’t have to worry about anyone hearing you. Sing your heart out.

But even speaking praise. Jesus taught that when you pray, you start with, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” It is an expression of praise. May your name, Lord, be untainted and lifted high in my life. You can speak praise to God.

3. With corresponding postures

Psalm 95:6 NLT

Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,

It is appropriate to bow and kneel before the Lord. History tells us that the apostle James had knees like a camel from all the time he spent on his knees.

Psalm 134:2 NLT

Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.

Psalm 141:2 NLT

Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

You praise with hands lifted up, the same way incense rises up to the heavens. I said before, lifted hands is not a Pentecostal or charismatic thing. This is straight from the Old Testament.

2 Samuel 6:16 NLT

But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

David didn’t just dance before the Ark of the Lord; he danced in such a way that he embarassed his wife. That means if you feel the need to move, it doesn’t have to be pretty, and it is OK if you embarass your spouse a little bit. You’re not dancing for anyone else; just Him.

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Here is why I am a firm believer in posture when you praise. Usually when you see someone raising their hands or dancing, it is because they are so caught up in praise that the body just follows. But I also believe that posture can lead your heart to praise when it doesn’t feel like it. There are times at the front when I am so caught up in my message or something going on at the church or at home that praise is the furthest thing from my mind. Yet I know that I need to experience the presence of God before I preach, so I will lift my hands so that praise takes over. Or even when I’m preparing my message and I feel stuck. At my desk or at the table, I will just throw my hands in the air and praise God’s wisdom and patience, even though I’m losing mine because things aren’t coming together. Sometimes praising God leads to postures; other times your posture helps your heart praise Him.

So this morning, we are going to sing a couple more songs. I invite you to take what you have learned this morning and put it into practice. Praise the Lord because he is completely worthy of praise. Praise him wholeheartedly and enter his presence. Experience his joy and peace this morning. Praise him and take back what the enemy has tried to steal from you.

Praise him. And don’t stop here. Every day this week, I invite you to play some praise music to start your day. It only has to be one song, but start your day with praise. With all the availibility, find what works for you.

Why it matters

Closing Line

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

In what ways have you experienced God's presence more fully through praise?

What practical steps can you take to incorporate praise into your daily routine?

Reflect on a time when praise helped you during a difficult situation. What specific praises did you offer?

How does praising God change the way you face everyday challenges?

Why do you think it’s hard to praise God when you’re feeling down or stressed?

How can you encourage your friends to engage in praise during tough times?