The Wonder of Praise

I have a devotion that has become very special to me. The title is Write the Word, by a company called Cultivate What Matters. Each day there is a prompt to write a verse(s), based on the theme of that particular journal. I recently finished one and started a new journal with the theme of Worship. Sometimes I am easily distracted by the things of this world and I thought it would be good to have a practice of starting the day with my gaze set firmly on God. It’s been refreshing.

This morning though, there was something different. There was no verse, just a prompt, “Lord I worship You because…” For some reason that threw me. I was almost mad that they had messed up my routine of writing verses and meditating on them. Of course I could have skipped it and moved on, but I can’t have blank pages in a journal (ha, ha).

I guess too many years of trying to praise as a part of a formula for prayer, like ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), have made it difficult to praise on demand. I used to spend hours making lists of things I could praise Him for so I could pray and praise ‘right.’

This morning though, instead of trying to do the prompt ‘right’, I decided to be honest with how I felt at the moment and it led me to the sweetest conclusion. Praise doesn’t come easy for me when someone tells me it’s time to praise, but let me read a Scripture, or hear a song, read something in a book, or see a breathtaking sunset or mountain view and I can’t stop the praise, it comes bubbling out of me.

It’s those little moments that remind me of God’s incredible work of redemption and restoration in my life, or in the life of people I love. It’s those moments that remind me of God’s great love and mercy, His grace and forgiveness, His glory, His kindness, His justice and holiness that cause an overflow of praise and wonder that reach to the depths of my being.

It’s funny, though, I actually wondered if it was ok with God that I’m not good at praising on demand (or on a prompt or a formula) and then I thought of something that happened the other day.

Mackenzie, our oldest daughter, came to hang out with my mom and me while we took care of our grandkids. She loves to play with them and I’m certain they can tell how much they’re loved. She had fixed our oldest grandson a snack after preschool and out of the blue he said, “Mackenzie (in his sweet 2.5 year old way), I love you,” totally unprompted, from the overflow of his beautiful little heart.

As I wrestled with my own struggle this morning and remembered that moment, I knew that God is far more moved by my unprompted overflow of love and praise than He is by me simply fulfilling my obligation to a formula or a prompt in my devotion.

And please don’t get me wrong, if prompts work for you, that’s great, carry on, but it’s ok if they don’t too. We are each fearfully and wonderfully made and our lives have all been shaped and formed by meeting God in different ways. But I would encourage you to be intentional about discovering what inspires you to praise and express gratitude for who He is and all that He has done. When I remember how BIG God is, through my praise and worship, the things of this world get very small and they lose their grip on my heart.

I would love it if you would share what inspires you to praise. You can comment below or email me at hikingonholyground@gmail.com

Need to Breathe just released a video of their new song I've Got a Story. It's the perfect example of a song that makes my heart overflow with praise!

I've Got a Story (click to listen)

This is what the journal and the inside looks like.