Oh what a wonder to stand before the Lord our God
To marvel at His Majesty
To dwell in His presence
To pour our love on Him

Even when the winds surround us
And waves try to overturn our boats
We look to Him and praise His name
For what are the winds
And what are the waves if not obedient to Him?

Praise is what we do
Because we know He is able
And He has already conquered,
So praise we do and at that praise His name

I’ve been used to singing all my life, the walls of my household never had a break from hearing the quiet sounds of tunes or the loud yells and bellows from my lungs. I can’t tell you how many times I’d get a ‘keep it down’ from my fellow housemates almost every time (lol) and sometimes, they’d join me in the lifting up voices.

I’m sure a lot of us can relate to these things, maybe you were like me raising hearty sounds or you were on the receiving end of it beckoning to your fellow to keep it mellow. Regardless, we’ve experienced this.

Ever wondered why we praise God? The psalmist tells us to come before God’s presence with Thanksgiving and His court with praise (Psalm 100: 4). We are created to have fellowship with God just like Adam and Eve did in the beginning of the world. And while sin came into the world, Jesus’ sacrifice gave a path back to the Father. Now we can commune with Him as we have been joined back to Him.

But why praise? Praise is honoring God for what He has done. Let’s recount Paul and Silas’ story. (Acts 16:16-40)

Paul and Silas were doing the work of God, preaching the Gospel in Philippi when the met a servant woman with a spirit who followed them for many days around shouting that they were ‘servants of the most High God’. This happened for many days and Paul cast out this spirit. Unfortunately, this resulted in them being whipped and put in prison. But something profound happened. While in prison, they chose to praise God, and lift His name up all through the night.

Then an earthquake happened, and prison doors opened. They were no longer trapped, through this event, the guard of the prison and his family got saved. Wonderful things happened because they chose to look at what God had done and honor Him for that and not at their current situation.

So again why praise? Praise is how we express our gratitude to God, praise is how we fight our battles, praise is how we lift God up among others.

Praise isn’t just singing, its in our actions, its in the lifting of our hands, the words we speak, its about our lifestyle. Praising God is worth it, so today, choose to praise in the good, the bad and the ugly, just like Paul and Silas and see when those doors are pushed open in your favor!

Song for the week

Why we sing https://youtu.be/kZosEgdE-mo?si=nGdaL8ErrXn0XiZv

Fragrance to Fire https://youtu.be/gqIwEbCyxBo?si=6_bHjguPSnTMYzKQ