As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
—Colossians 2:6-7
One of the ways we abound in faith is with thanksgiving. With thanksgiving, we “thrive, “flourish," and “prosper” in our faith. If we are not praising God, we are not abounding in faith. That does not mean that faith is not in us. It just means our faith is not growing and thriving. It is not abounding and complete. We are not using the faith that is ours. But when we begin to live our lives in a God-like, biblical faith, praise will become a primary part of our lives.
It is hard to imagine a person with a thriving faith void of thanksgiving. If there is something he believes for, the moment it becomes real, there is some praise. Don’t we express praise when we receive something we are praying and believing for? Some may become very emotional and shout. Others may express their praise in a more restrained way. But there will be some response of praise. It is impossible to imagine faith without some form of praise. If you are praying for someone to be saved—if you are praying for someone to get right with the Lord, when they do, there will always be some expression of praise.
Consider this. Instead of waiting to praise the Lord after we receive what we pray for, we can act on Scriptures like Colossians 2:6-7. By continually praising God, we build up our faith and make it complete. We can abound and thrive in our faith before we receive what we have prayed and believed for. We can increase our faith by praising God the moment we realize our problem or need.
Many believers try to believe God for something but do not include praise. Some believers say they are struggling but also say they are believing God and standing in faith. They remain discouraged and pessimistic. They say they believe with everything they have, but they lack praise. And without praise, they cannot be abounding in faith. Praise indicates whether we are living a God-like biblical faith or just hoping and trying to believe.
It can be hard to draw a definitive line between believing in faith and not. We can even deceive ourselves into thinking we are standing in faith, but in our hearts, we have fear that is hard for us to acknowledge. However, there is one proof that we are standing in faith. It is praise. Praise will always be there when we walk in God’s kind of faith. If there is no thanksgiving, we are not abounding in faith.
Praise will reveal whether we believe God or not. If we do not praise God or our praise is limited, then our faith is limited. When we abound in praise—praising God as if it were already done—we know we are thriving in our faith. It is just a matter of time before we receive our promise.
Praise is a vital part of faith.
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