What Does It Mean to Praise God Every Day?

Praise isn’t just something relegated to worship services; in fact, it’s associated with our everyday lives. In our daily busyness of going to work, loving our families, and walking through the checkout line, we can praise God; we can highlight His greatness and worth. When we praise God, we’re giving glory to Him. His light within us shines back to Him. It’s as if we’re saying, Look! Look at God, at who God is and what He does!

We Praise the Lord Because He Is Great

We praise God because He deserves it, and He tells us to praise Him. Because God is so different from us—so fully incomprehensible—His mystery can be frustrating and scary sometimes, especially in seasons of hardship and pain. But, ultimately the fact that God is higher than us, that we can’t wrap our minds around the entirety of who He is, is a good thing! We wouldn’t want to worship a God who we could completely understand. If we could fully understand Him, then we’d be on His same level and He wouldn’t be God.

As God reveals different aspects of His character to us and as we come to understand more and more of what He has done for us as His children, we will discover reason after reason to praise Him. I love to think of God that way. There are always more beautiful aspects of His character and love for us to discover. We’ll never come to the end of who He is. And, when He shows us more of who He is through His Word and prayer, we respond to that revelation with praise and gratitude.

We Praise God Because It Helps Us

God made us. He knows how we were created to flourish and thrive. He commands us to praise Him because He knows the best thing for us is to prize Him as the joy and delight of our hearts. When our relationship with God is prioritized first and we’re placing the full weight of not only our eternal security but our emotional and spiritual security here and now on God, we typically give the people in our lives more freedom. And that leads to healthier and more loving relationships and more internal security.

Praising God also helps us because it reminds us of the truth of His Word, and gives us a way to turn His gospel truths over and over in our hearts and minds.

Over and over again in the psalms, we see men grappling with devastating loss, pain, and fear, only to turn the corner with “but.” Then we see God’s Word walk them back from the edge of despair. Praising God helps anchor us in the truths of His character and His steadfast love for us. It reminds us that He holds onto us during the good and the bad days. Praising God stirs our hearts up to joy so we can walk in a hope-filled assurance of who God is. It’s a reminder that God isn’t done with us yet. Though things may look grim now, His truth and Word will hold us until eternity. God has good plans for us still.

We Praise God to Make Much of Him to Others

We praise God and shine a light on Him, giving Him glory so that others will see how great He is. We tell of His goodness to other believers to encourage them, to strengthen their hope and faith in Him. We tell of His goodness to those who do not yet know God, so that they can see how all-satisfying a relationship with Him is so that they will want to know Him too.

Excerpted from Psalm 40 by Sarah Mae. Published by Lifeway Press®. © 2019. Used by permission.

When life hits you hard you may be left wonder if God really cares for you. In an 8-session study of Psalm 40, we learn how God hears the cries of our hearts and delights in rescuing us. Psalm 40 helps us honestly ask ourselves and the Bible questions and learn how to stay faithful through trial and painful times. Joy and purpose come from being faithful, delighting in God and the healing that only He can bring.