Yesterday, we looked at how our words either speak death or life and determine the course of our lives.
How often do we grumble about what we don’t have or our life problems, then go to church and praise the Lord?
True praise comes from an abundant heart overflowing with God’s Word. But, too often, we live by our words and not the Word of God.
The Word tells us to bless the Lord (Psalm 103:1-2). Praising the Lord blesses Him.
If the power of life and death are in the words we speak, there is power in our words when we praise God.
“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2).
Psalm 8 exalts the excellence and greatness of our God. He is so great that even His infants and nursing children are stronger than the enemy. Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2 in Matthew 21:16, where He substituted “perfected praise” for what David wrote as “ordained strength.” We no longer praise God from a place of weakness but from a place where we are satisfied in Jesus! We praise the Lord for the strength of His perfected work in us! Our praise comes out of the finished work of Jesus in our hearts. Our praise is the strength that silences both the enemy and the avenger.
Praising the Lord is good for us. It is our weapon against the devil.
David wrote in Psalm 107:8-9, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Our praise blesses God, and it satisfies our hungry souls. It’s one of the most important things we can do.
We should continually praise the Lord (Psalm 34:1). We should praise Him at all times—not only in the good but also in the bad. This is something to do, even if we don’t always feel like it.
What does it mean to bless the Lord? Religion makes a cliché out of the word “bless.” Many people spout, “Bless the Lord,” and don’t know what it means.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines “bless” as “to honor as holy; glorify.” When we bless the Lord, we are praising Him. When we praise the Lord out of our hearts, we glorify and honor Him. He is pleased with it. A mere repetition of words of praise doesn’t necessarily “bless the Lord.”
If my daughter says, “You’re a good mom,” out of the love she has in her heart for me, that blesses me. We should do the same toward our heavenly Father.
Psalm 107:9 says that the Lord satisfies the longing soul. The Hebrew Word for “satisfy” in this verse is “saba.” Strong’s Concordance defines “saba” as “to sate, i.e. fill to satisfaction (literally or figuratively).”
What is the course of your life? Do you long to be filled to satisfaction?
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1)!
Praising the Lord blesses Him, filling you with a satisfied soul. True praise worships the Lord, spirit to Spirit, from an abundant heart overflowing with the revelation of God’s Word. But, too often, we live by our words and not the Word of God.
What comes out of the abundance of your heart can be either death or life. If you put the Word in your heart, praise will flow from you, blessing the Lord and giving life!
You can be hungry and never satisfied. But the Lord fills the hungry and longing soul to satisfaction. Don’t struggle. Labor not to labor. Rest in His ordained strength and in the perfect work of Jesus. Keep asking, seeking, knocking, and praising Him; you shall receive.
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