THE MOTIVATION FOR PRAISE

Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart – Psalm 37:4

Yesterday, we meditated on the Praise Cure. We must however be cautious to note that: praising God is not a patent medicine, a cure-all, or a magic formula for breakthroughs. It is a way of life that is solidly backed up in God’s Word. The true Practice of Praise is based on a total and joyful acceptance of the present as part of God’s loving, perfect will for us. Praise is not based on what we think or hope will happen in the future. We praise God, not just for what we expect will happen in or around us, but for Who He is and where and how we are presently.

It is a fact that when you honestly praise God, something does happen as a result. His power obviously flows into the situation, and you will notice, sooner or later, a transformation in you or around you. The change may be that you come to experience a real joy and peace in the midst of what once appeared to be a hopeless situation, or the situation may change. But this is a result of praise, and must not be the motivation for praise. Praise is not a tool of manipulation or a bargaining position with God. To say, “I’ll praise You so that you can bless me, Lord” would be a wrong motive. To praise God is to delight yourself in Him: “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psa. 37:4).

God wants to give you your heart’s desires, but notice the divine order: You do not first make a list of your heart’s desires and then delight yourself in the Lord to induce Him. You’re first to be delighted in God, then, you’ll see the lines fall unto you in pleasant places (Psa.16:6). If you could only learn to be delighted with the Lord in everything! The ‘power in praise’ is not just power in your words of praise. There is no power in your attitude of thankfulness. All the power that changes situations comes from God. Always trust Him enough to thank Him for working out His plan in the way He knows best. Then, you’ll experience true release and abundance of peace (vs. 11).

You may look at the circumstances surrounding you and assume that you’ve been stranded or stagnated for so long. The more you pray and cry to God for help, the more the pressures seem to pile up. Your turning point could be to rise to a new level of faith: begin to praise God for the situation instead of crying miserably for it to change! God has a perfect plan for your life, but He may not move you to the next step of His plan until you joyfully appreciate and thank Him for the present situation as part of His plan.