The Priority of Praise

Every one of us has a favorite time of the year, favorite month

of the year in which we appreciate more than other

times. Mine happened to be the the last

two months of the year, both November and December.

It's it's all about the celebration of what takes place

in those months. And when you, you think about

all the, all, the, all the songs that are sung and all the sights

that are seen and even the smells of the holiday season are

unique and special. And so we embark on a time of

the year where the whole world basically is involved in some

kind of celebration when it comes to Thanksgiving and

Christmas. But the believers celebration is

different. It's, it's, it's unique in, in

that the believer celebration is, is based on three key

components. It's based on #1A contemplation.

The reason we are to celebrate the Christ is because we

contemplate him, we meditate upon Him, we think only of Him,

and we recognize that the season is all about Him.

So our celebration consists of a contemplation.

Outside of that, it consists of a consideration and the word to

consider is a is a mathematical term where where whereby you add

up all the facts and come to the right conclusion.

And so as we contemplate this great God that we serve, we

begin to consider all that he does and all that he is by

adding up all the facts of of everything about his being and

his works. And we celebrate him.

And that contemplation leads to a consideration which leads to a

commemoration, that is, we under understand who Christ is and we

remember all that he has done, which allows our celebration to

be that which is beyond what the world gives because it honors

and glorifies the name of Christ.

And when you commemorate someone, you remember them.

And it's so important for us to do that.

The Bible says in second Dividey 28, Paul says to Timothy

remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from

the dead, which is my gospel. Why would Paul tell Timothy to

remember Jesus? Had Timothy forgotten about

Jesus? No, Timothy's a pastor, he's not

going to forget about Jesus. But you have to understand what

it means when the Bible says to remember something.

It's it's simply means that you are to pay very close attention

so that you can act wisely and fulfill your commitment.

So when Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, he's

telling him to, to to pay very close attention to the Christ so

that in your ministry you can act wisely and fulfill your

commitment. You can say the same thing about

Jonah when Jonah was in the belly of the fish.

It says that Jonah said to do that.

Jonah remembered the Lord and he offered up a voice of

Thanksgiving to God. Now, did Jonah forget about the

Lord? No.

The reason he was in the belly of the fish was because of the

Lord. I mean, he was going the

opposite way of Nineveh. Everything that he was doing in

rebellion was against the Lord. He didn't forget the Lord, but

he had to pay very close attention to the Lord he served

so that he could act wisely and make the right decision.

So when he remembered the Lord, he lifted his voice in

Thanksgiving to God. Same is true with with Solomon

when he told his son Rayabom remember your Creator in the

days of your youth. Not that Rayabom would have

forgotten about his Creator. That's not the point.

The point is, pay very close attention to the One who created

you while you're young, because the evil days are coming.

And if you pay very close to Him now, pay very close attention to

Him now. You will act wisely.

You'll fulfill your commitment so that when the evil days come,

you'll be able to stand. The believers had this great

celebration of the Christ on a continual basis, not just at

Thanksgiving and at Christmas. We have this continual

celebration because of this contemplation upon the Christ,

this consideration of the Christ, and this commemoration

about the Christ. That's why our celebration is so

unique. And so when we pay very close

attention to remembering Christ, what are we remembering?

Well, one, you remember his works, listen what the Bible

says. First Corinthians 11/24.

Christ said, do this in remembrance of me speaking about

the Lord's table. When you when you partake of the

Lord's table, you do this in remembrance of me.

You are reminded of the fact that my work on Calvary's cross

is that what saves you? Over in Psalm 7711 it says I

will remember the works of the Lord.

Psalm one O 3. Excuse me.

Psalm one O 5 verse #5 Remember his marvelous works.

Psalm 139, verses 13 to 14 talk about the fact that we were

Psalms 139:13–14

created and wonderfully made, and we need to remember that we

were made specifically by God. So we are to remember the works

of God, but we're also to remember the ways of God.

Deuteronomy 8 verse #1 says remember that the Lord your God

LED you all this way. Important for Israel to remember

what God had done, that God had brought them to where they were.

They were on the edge of the promised land, and they were

there because God had LED them all the way.

That's what God had done. That's why the psalmist says in

Psalm 1830, As for God, thy way is perfect.

God doesn't have imperfect ways. He's only got perfect ways and

so we are to pay very close attention to the ways of God.

So that allows us to act decisively and fulfill our

commitment to him when we look at his ways and his works.

The reason we don't remember the ways of God is because we are

all about our ways and the Bible says there is a way would seem

with the right into the way. There is a way that steameth

right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death,

not life. We forget that.

So not only do we remember the works of God and the ways of

God, it's imperative that we remember the word of God.

Psalm 11952 I will remember thine ordinances from old and

comfort myself. Psalmist knew that his comfort

would come because he paid very close attention to the

ordinances of God and then would act wisely and fulfill his

commitment to God, and then he received the comfort of God.

Comfort doesn't come to those who disobey the word of God, it

comes to those who obey the word of God.

That's why Christ in John 1520, remember the word that I said

unto you. And the Bible says in Acts 2035,

remember the words of our Lord Jesus when he said it's more

blessed to give than it is to receive.

And then of course Psalm 1/19/16, the psalmist says I

will not forget your words. So that commemoration that

enables us to celebrate the Christ is all about remembering

the works of God, the ways of God, the Word of God, and even

the wonders of God. Listen to what the Bible says,

Psalm 7711. Surely I will remember your

wonders of old. There's one thing to remember

the works of God. There's another to remember the

wonders of God. What's the difference?

Listen to what the Bible says. Psalm one O 5 verse #5 Remember

his wonder. Psalm 111 verse #4 He has made

his wonders to be remembered. Psalm 98 verse #1 O sing to the

Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things.

The difference is, is that in Isaiah 96, it says His name

shall be called wonderful. So when you remember the wonders

of God, you're remembering the God behind all the works that he

performs. And the Bible tells us that we

do remember those things. And as believers, that's what we

do Why? Because the Bible says that the

people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my

praise. Isaiah 4321.

That's our theme verse for our topic, The pathway to praise God

made it very clear that those people that I formed for me,

they will declare my praise. Well, if that's the case, the

reason we do that is because we remember our God, we remember

Jesus Christ, we remember our creator and we give glory to his

name. Our our lives are consumed with

that. And so we have looked at at the

privilege of praise. We've looked at the prophet of

praise. We've looked at the people of

praise last week. It was a prerequisite of praise

this week. It's about the priority of

praise. Praise is the priority of the

believer. It's something that's always,

ever present in his life. It's something that rings

supreme or reigns supreme in his life because he wants to give

praise to his God. He's been created to give praise

to God. And so let me give you 6

principles that will help you understand why praise is our

priority. It will help you as you journey

along the pathway to praise. Principle number one is this.

Praise is that which escorts us into God's presence.

Praise is that which escorts us into God's presence.

Listen to the Psalmist Psalm 100.

Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful

singing. Know that the Lord Himself is

God. It is He who has made us and not

we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep

of His pasture. Enter His gates with

Thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless his name.

Enter his courts with Thanksgiving and enter his gates

with praise. The psalmist is speaking about

the the temple where the presence of God, the glory of

the Lord would would reside. That's that's where the Lord

would dwell among his people. This song was made very clear

that when you enter into the presence of God, you enter in

with shouts of praise and Thanksgiving to God.

You enter His courts with praise.

You enter His gates with Thanksgiving.

Why? Because it escorts you into the

presence of God. Now we know that God is

omnipresent, right? We know that God is everywhere

at the same time, and there's no place that God is not there.

He's everywhere. He's omnipresent.

It's, it's incomprehensible for us to understand that we can't

get that. But he's everywhere.

But we don't have a temple we go to, we don't enter into courts

and gates with praise because our body is a temple of the Holy

Spirit. God dwells within us, right?

So the very fact that praise is that which escorts us into the

presence of God. In other words, praise is that

which allows us to enter into communion with him in such a way

that it brings glory to His name.

You know, how many times do we feel far away from God or we

think that God's nowhere around Israel was always that way?

They were always wondering, where is God?

How come He's not here to help me?

What happened? Is he not listening?

Does He not care? Of course He does.

He's everywhere. He thought I'm in the present.

He's present with you now. But the reason you don't sense

God's presence among you is because you refuse to enter that

presence with praise. When you begin to praise Him and

thank Him and glorify His name, all of a sudden you begin to

realize that God is ever present with you.

He's always there. He never left.

It's, it's when you feel far away from God.

It's you who moved, not God. You're trying to move away from

him, but in all reality, he is ever present with you.

Listen to Psalm 95. Psalm 95 says, Oh, come, let us

sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the

rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence

with Thanksgiving. I'm going to shout joyfully to

Him with salts. It's always about entering the

presence of God with a certain attitude, a certain frame of

mind, and that is the mind that is willing and ready to praise

the true and living God. Because praise is that which

escorts us into the presence of the living God.

And once it that that praise escorts us into the presence of

God #2 praise is that which is, is that which encompasses us in

the protection of God. It encompasses us with the

protection of God. For only in his presence are we

protected. And so the Bible says, and

excuse me, Psalm 18, David says these words verse #1 I love you,

O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my

fortress and my deliverer, my rock, my God, in whom I take

refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am

saved from my enemies. David knew that his salvation

came because of God, the divine protection of God, and that's

why he would call upon the name of the Lord.

That's why he recognized that the Lord was worthy of praise,

because God was his refuge, his rock, his fortress, his

deliverer, his Savior, his bulwark, his shield.

God was everything to him, and David recognized that in those

years in which he journeyed away from Saul because Saul pursued

him relentlessly, that God was his protector.

In fact, if you go on and Psalm 18, it says these words later in

verse #30 excuse me, ask for God.

His way is blameless. The word of the Lord has tried.

He's a shield to all who take refuge in him.

For who is God but the Lord, and who is a rock except our God?

The guy who girds me with strength and makes my way

blameless. He makes my feet like Hinds feet

and sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle so

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of your salvation, and

your right hand upholds me, and your gentleness makes me great.

You enlarge my steps under me and my feet have not slipped.

David writing this after the years in which he fled from Saul

and now he's king over Judah and king over Israel.

He is, he is looking back and realizing that that God gave him

the strength to bend the bow, that God gave him the strength

to wield the sword, that God was the one who protected him and

watched over him. So that at the end he says this

in verse 46. The Lord lives, and blessed be

my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, The God who

executes vengeance for me and seduce my seduce peoples under

me. He delivers me from my enemies.

Surely you lift me above those who rise up against me.

You rescue me from the violent man.

Therefore excuse me. I will give thanks to you among

the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to your name.

I will give thanks to you. I will, I will sing praises to

your name, oh God. Because you see, praise is that

which encompasses us with the protection of the God of Israel.

God is our protector, God's our provider, He's our shield.

And so enter his presence with Thanksgiving and praise, and

there there is nothing but protection from God.

So we recognize that praise is a priority because it escorts me

into the divine presence and it encompasses me with divine

protection. And then thirdly, this is where

it gets really, really good, as if it's not good already.

This is where it gets really, really good.

Praise elevates me to the divine perspective.

Praise elevates me to the divine perspective, praises that which

enables me to see what God is doing.

It gives me a a, a clear perspective on the sovereignty

and Providence of God being worked out in my life.

Every one of us asked the question, God, what are you

doing? Why has this happened this way

and not that way? Why am I in this situation and

not that situation? We always ask God those

questions. And yet God is forever faithful,

but when you praise Him, He, it elevates you to the divine

perspective. Turn to the book of Habakkuk.

The book of Habakkuk. He was a prophet in Israel.

He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and he has some

questions, a question that probably you and I would ask if

we were living at that time. And the question simply was,

Lord, why are you using the wicked Chaldeans to bring your

people into captivity? Why would you use the wicked to

come against your people, your chosen people, Israel?

Why Lord? So in in chapter 1 of Habakkuk

he he simply worries and he wonders what's going to happen

to God's people. In chapter 2 he will wait and he

will watch as God speaks. And then in chapter 3, he simply

worships and witnesses for his God.

What would change in the life of Habakkuk?

The circumstances never changed. The circumstances would remain

the same. God was still going to use the

wicked Chaldeans, lead Israel into 70 years of Babylonian

captivity. So what changed?

Not the circumstances, but Habakkuk's perspective on the

circumstances. When that changed, everything

was all right. So he says this at the end of

Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 16. I heard in my inward parts

Habakkuk 3:16

trembled earlier he says in chapter 3 verse #2 I have heard

and report about you, and I fear God spoken in the back of

tremble at the sound my lips quivered decay into my bones,

and in my place I tremble because I must quietly or wait

quietly for the day of distress. I've couldn't realize that I

can't change what's going to happen.

I've come to realize that the date of stress is going to come

upon God's people. I've come to realize that that

the wicked Chaldeans will move against us and take God's people

into captivity. So because I must wait quietly

for the date of stress for the people to arise who will invade

us. Though the fig tree should not

blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of

the olive should fail and the fields produce no fruit, though

the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle

in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord.

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation, for the Lord God is

my strength and He has made my feet like Heinz feet, sure,

steadfast, swift like a deer, and makes me walk on my high

places back. His whole perspective changed.

God has spoken, so he in effect remembered the word of the Lord.

And he would, he would, he would act decisively because he paid

very close attention to what God has said.

And he realized that in praise it would elevate him to a divine

perspective. He would be able to see things

from God's point of view, and everyone of us needs to have

that kind of perspective. We we think so logically that we

can't think theologically. But biblicists think

theologically because they think theocentrically.

They think God's mind, God's thoughts, and the only way to do

that is to be invaded by the Word of God, to be immersed in

the Word of God, to know what God has planned and what God has

said, to know the the works of God and the ways of God, the

wonders of God, to know those things about God and and to

realize that God is at work and God has a plan in the back of

the prophet of God had to had to learn to wait upon the Lord and

say, Lord, what are you doing? I don't get it.

These are your people. And God would speak to him and

God would show him what he was doing.

And all of a sudden he, he would begin to lift his voice and

praise to God. Why?

Because he would see things from God's perspective.

Listen, everything about life has to be seen from God's

perspective. When you look at it through your

lenses, from the human perspective, things look really,

really bad. They look very, very good.

Your health might not look very good to you.

The doctor might say you're going to die next week.

I don't know. From the human perspective, it

doesn't look very good. But what's God's perspective?

What's God's plan? What is God doing?

And all of a sudden, even though you don't know what's happening,

you begin to lift your voice and praise.

You've entered his courts with Thanksgiving and praise, so

you've entered into the divine presence of God, because praise

escorts you into that presence. And then you realize that you

are protected by that God whose presence you dwell within.

And then all of a sudden you begin to see things from God's

perspective because you begin to praise him all the more.

That's why the Bible says, the people that I have formed for

myself, they will declare my praise.

Not that they might declare my praise or I hope they declare my

praise. No, they will declare my praise.

They're going to do this. And when you do, all of a sudden

you are elevated to a whole new view, a whole new view because

you see things from heaven's perspective that is just so

important. God was at work.

God was going to do something for Israel that the only way he

could accomplish His feet was to get them into captivity for 70

years. Yes, they were paying for the

consequences of the sin, but God was doing the work in their

lives to move them to, to anticipate the arrival of their

Messiah. God had a plan for a whole

nation, just like He has the plans for you individually.

And God is working. And the next time you find

yourself with man, what is happening, just lift your voice

and praise to the Lord and shout joyfully into His name, and all

of a sudden you'll begin to see things very clearly from the

divine perspective. Praise escorts us into the

divine presence. Praise encompasses us with

divine protection. And praise is that which

elevates us to the divine perspective #4 praise is that

which enables us through divine power.

Praise is that which enables us through divine power.

You know the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of

timidity, but a spirit of power, the presence of God's Spirit.

In Acts chapter 1, the Lord said to his disciples, You shall

Acts 1 · chapter mention

receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you

will be my witnesses. We forget that divine power

resides within us and that God wants to enable us to perform

under His power, and it's His strength that allows us to do

the things He's commanded us to do.

There are so many things that we think we can't accomplish, but

God says you can because they've already equipped you with my

spirit, and my spirit resides within you.

The problem is we don't lift our voices in praise to God so that

I'm able to understand the divine power within.

Go back with me, if you would, to the book of Second Chronicles

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20. I've used this illustration

before, but I think it's very pertinent to the point where

King Jehoshaphat was very much afraid of the Moabites and

Ammonites and Edomites that were coming upon the nation of

Israel. The armies were innumerable to

count, and rightly so. Jehoshaphat began to fear.

So the Bible says in verse #2A great multitude is coming

against you from beyond the sea, out of a ram, and behold

therein. And Getty.

Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the

Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord.

They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the

Lord. Here was Jehoshaphat, the king

of Israel, who realized his inability to handle this great

army. He couldn't do it.

His people were outnumbered. The skill of the enemy army was

beyond Israel's skill, and he realized his inability to do

anything. But soon because of the prophet,

he recognized God's sovereignty. And it says, listen, all Judah

verse 15 and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat

thus says the Lord to you, do not fear or be dismayed because

of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours.

But gods, that's just such a great verse.

Do not fear the multitude. Don't fear the fact that you are

so outnumbered you have no chance because the battle is the

Lord's. That's just so good.

See, we're so busy fighting our own battles that we forget that

the battle is the Lord's. So when do we lose?

The battle is the Lord's. He goes on to say in verse #17

You need not fight in this battle.

Station yourself. Set yourself, watch, wait,

stand, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf of Judah

and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you or it's

with you. You can face this army.

And so it says in verse #19 The Levites from the sons of the

Coathites and the sons of the Korah heights stood up to praise

the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.

They rose early in the morning, and they went out to the

wilderness of Toccoa. And when they went out,

Jehoshaphat stood and said, Listen to me, O Judah and

inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God,

and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets

and succeed. When he had consulted with the

people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord, and those who

praised Him in holy attire as he went out before the army and

said, Give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness is

everlasting. He responded obediently because

of God's sovereignty amidst his inability.

And what did they do? They begin to sing praises to

God at the very end, it says in verse #26 Then on the 4th day

they assembled in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed

the Lord, and therefore they have named that place the valley

of Barakah, until today. And every man of Judah and

Jerusalem returned, which which Ahasa had at their head,

returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to

rejoice over their enemies. The story is so incredible to

realize that that all they did was begin to sing to the Lord,

and the enemies annihilated themselves.

You just need to remember that next time you get in the fight,

just start singing to the Lord, Give Him praise to His glorious

name. They knew that God would be with

them. They knew that God would fight

for them. The prophet told him.

So they waited, but they gave praise to God, because praise is

that which enables us through divine power.

When we begin to praise God, the power of God is unleashed in our

lives. Instead of grumbling and

complaining about what's happening in my life, I begin to

praise God for what He's doing because He's going to do things

beyond whatever I can ever imagine.

Remember Paul and Silas when they were in prison Act 16?

They had been beaten and they were in stocks and chains.

What did they do? They began to sing, begin to

pray and begin to sing. Did, did.

Did Paul and Status know the chains were going to come off?

Nope. Did they know the jail doors are

going to be open? Nope.

That's not why they were singing.

They were singing because the people that I have formed for

myself, they will declare my praise no matter what the

circumstance. And so they did.

And lo and behold, the chains fell off, the doors flew open.

God was doing the work. Why?

Because praise enables us through divine power.

And so we're so busy worrying about things and complaining

about things and griping about things that we forget that we

are to praise Him in everything and for everything.

And praise that which enables us to divine power #5 this is so

good. Praise envelops us with divine

peace. Praise envelops us with divine

peace. You know this verse, Philippians

4 verse #6 Be anxious for nothing, OK?

Larry says stop worrying. But we worry, don't we?

We get very anxious. We're, we're, we're very much

anxiety driven. Our palms become sweaty, our

brow becomes filled with beads of sweat, our pits become smelly

because all we do is live anxious lives.

And the Bible says be anxious for nothing.

Matthew 6, Christ did the same thing.

Don't worry about what you're going to wear tomorrow.

Don't worry about about how long you're going to live.

But what do we do? We worry about how long we're

going to live. We worry that we're going to die

tomorrow. We're worried about somebody

going to get cancer in my family.

Why? Why do you do that?

All your days are numbered. You can't add to it or subtract

from it. It's all numbered.

But we'll be worried about how long we're going to live.

We worry about what clothes we're going to wear.

We worry about everything in life and and and Christ gives

the command don't do this because to do it as a sin to do

it as a sin. We don't see worry as a sin, but

it is. We don't see anxiety as a sin,

but it is be anxious for nothing.

The Bible says why tells you, but in everything by prayer and

suffocation with Thanksgiving. See, our problem is we spend

more time in petition and not enough time and praise.

Look at your prayer life. You're asking God for this.

You're asking God for that because you want this and you

want that. You keep asking and asking and

asking and asking and asking, but not praising.

Our prayers are filled with petition, but they should be

filled with praise. So he says, be anxious for

nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

Thanksgiving. Every petition is coupled with

Thanksgiving. Every supplication is surrounded

with Thanksgiving. Every time you ask God for

something, you praise God for something.

Just keep praising them. When you do that, when you do

that, it says, and the peace of God, which surpasses all

comprehension, will guard your heart and mind.

Guard it from what? Anxiety, worry, doubt.

Why is that? Our lives are filled with worry

and doubt? Because when we pray, we don't

pray with Thanksgiving, we don't pray with praise, we don't pray

thanking God for what he's going to do and how he's going to do

it. We're just so worried that he's

going to even hear my prayer and answer my prayer.

We're we're even anxious about that.

And most be anxious for nothing. But in everything, not some

things, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

Thanksgiving. That's the key.

Let your requests be made known unto God.

When that happens, the peace of God, which surpasses all human

comprehension. In other words, you can't

understand this on the human level.

It's beyond a human intelligence.

It's divine peace and God wants to surround you with his peace

in your heart. It will guard your heart.

It will protect your heart from from from all kinds of sweat

just does from being anxious, being worried.

Because praise is simply that which enables us to divine power

and envelops us with divine peace.

I wonder if you live a life of peace and tranquility and

serenity? Or is your life filled with

worry and anxiousness about all kinds of things that just really

don't matter in the long run? And so many times we forget that

our prayers need to be more about praising God than

petitioning God. When they are, then the peace of

God, which goes beyond all kinds of human comprehension, is going

to guard you, protect you, watch over you, allow you to sleep at

night, allow you to go through life without sweaty palms.

A lot of you go through life relaxing in the sovereignty of

the living God. And lastly, praise is that which

enriches us in divine pleasure. Praise is that which enriches us

in divine pleasure. Psalm 69, verse #30 I will

praise the name of God with song and magnify him with

Thanksgiving, and it will please the Lord.

Praise that which enriches us with divine pleasure.

Don't you? Don't you want to please the

Lord? Praise does that, Thanksgiving

does it. That's why it's a priority.

That's why it's highest on our list.

Why? Because dandy, we just want to

please the Lord. That's all.

We want to honor the Lord, magnify His name.

And so when we praise Him and magnify Him and give Him the

thanks to His name, the Lord is pleased.

Lord is pleased with that more than any other sacrifice that we

make, because it's truly the sacrifice of praise that brings

glory in to His name and pleases Him.

And so This is why praise is such a divine priority for us is

because our whole life is, is wrapped up and pleasing God,

honoring God, That's what you want to do.

So praise then is the priority of the believer as we journey

down the pathway of praise. It is a long, long pathway.

And as you journey down that pathway of praise, there are

many crevices, there are many obstacles, there are many

hindrances that will try to knock you off that pathway.

But as long as praise remains your priority, then no matter

what the obstacle, no matter what the hardship or difficulty,

no matter how deep the crevice, how big the cracks, makes no

difference, you will continue to journey giving praise to your

God. Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you for today. We thank you for your word.

Forgive us Lord for for not praising you as we should.

Praise seems to be the lost art of the Christian today.

We know a lot about God, but we don't praise you enough for who

you are. We'd like to pray to you and ask

for things, but don't want to praise you for your will being

done. We want to go through life

anxiously waiting about what's going to happen this week or

tomorrow, in school, at work, with this person, with that

person. And yet we just need to rest in

God, trust in the Lord, knowing that you have everything under

control. The battle is not ours.

The battle is the Lord's. You are our protector.

You are our provider. You are our peace.

You are everything. Forgive us, Lord, for not seeing

you as such. Pray, Lord, that You would take

us, make us, and mold us into the people You want us to be.