Praise

Check Facebook. Go ahead. See anybody is using the like, or love button. It seems natural to express agreement or praise for what we enjoy or agree with.

We promote the music of our favorite artist, discuss the skill of an admired athlete, recommend the food of a good restaurant, or describe the beauty of a special vacation spot.

Charles Spurgeon once said:

“Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?”

In other words, praise is as normal as clouds in the sky or peanut butter and jelly. It is to enjoyment what crossing the finish line is to running a race. The two are so closely linked that an absence of one generally indicates an absence of the other.

The writer of Hebrews encouraged his friends, “Let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name” (Heb. 13:15 ). This verse teaches us several things.

First of all, the word “proclaim” indicates that praise is something that we do verbally. Praise cannot be contained in silence. As David said, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1).

Another thing the Bible urges us to do continually is to pray. The two are not unrelated. Praise is a huge part of prayer. Praise increases our delight in him—which, in turn, increases our prayer.

Another important point to note about praise is that it involves “sacrifice.” Under the old covenantal system, the Jews had the option to bring a grain offering to the temple as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. The sacrificial system ended with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet we can still choose to honor God by giving him a different sort of sacrifice—the praise of our lips.