What is praise?
Read time: 6 mins
“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
Psalms 150:1-6 NIV
My friend Que will frantically scream the word “fingers” as a warning to anyone he sees shutting a door recklessly. You may think it's strange for a grown man who can probably bench a few hundred pounds to warn his other competent and capable friends like a mother would to their toddler when they are near shutting doors. Que’s reaction may seem extreme or unnecessary. It may be boisterous and foolish but when you put yourself in Que’s shoes, his energetic, emotional and passionate reaction makes sense. Que will tell you the story. Not only has he broken his finger because of people playing with doors, he has seen others break their fingers in horrific ways while playing with doors. He told me the story of how a teacher left the classroom in middle school for a second and as expected, the kids started acting crazy. They all got up and roamed the classroom and some even left the classroom. When the teacher was on their way back, students rushed back into the room so they wouldn’t be caught outside while others closed the door on them. One student got their hand caught in the hinge of the door while it was closing and broke their hand to the point that their fingers were hanging off by a tendon. Que recounts rushing them to the principal while screaming and watching their fingers dangle and blood fall everywhere. Que’s reaction makes more sense when you hear his story.
Because of what Que has seen, felt, known and experienced, his reaction may look out of place and even foolish to those who don't understand. This is a lot like our reactions to the awe inspiring goodness that is God and what He has done for us. During praise breaks you can often hear the phrase, “if you went through what I went through, you would be praising too!” Praise is a reaction to an experience and it isn't always understood by those who haven’t experienced what you have.
If this idea of praise is commanded to us by a good God it must be good for us. God doesn’t command us to praise because He is egotistical and needs attention. This actually isn't for Him. It’s for us. So what is it? This word praise in Hebrew means to make something clear. It was originally pertaining to sound but more commonly used for color. It’s about boldly showing something’s full aura and beauty. It's about celebrating and boasting about something. The word also means to shine, make a show or boast. Praise is about bragging about who someone or something is. Praise is about unapologetically communicating the beauty and color of an experience. Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible tells us that Praise is about putting on so much of a show that you look clamorously foolish. This reminds me of when Paul says it looks like He is out of his mind for God. Paul throughout the letters to the Corinthians often brings up this concept that the things of God seem foolish to those who haven’t accepted it. Once you experience it, all the reactions that come with it make sense or are at least understood. But when you haven’t experienced it, the reactions people have when coming into contact with God look unwarranted or ignorant.
Praise is commanded to us because it reminds us who God is and gives others a chance to experience God for themselves too. Praise forces us to be reminded and thus relive the goodness from our past in our present. Revelation tells us that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. This means we overcome by both what God did and by telling others and hearing others tell about it. This passage goes on to name many instruments that sound different, look different and are experienced in different ways. Praise is simply your response to who God is and has been in your life. As you grow in understanding of the fact that God really is a loving and caring father who desires to walk with you no matter how much you ignored Him in the past, you are prompted to respond by accepting His gift of love and life. That’s praise. Saying thank you is praise. And telling others through your life, story, how you treat them, and even how you view situations is a way to praise.
This passage goes on to list many instruments that we are commanded to praise with. Now in this poetic language it's not telling us we have to learn all these instruments in order to praise. Praise isn't just about singing or music. Praise is about making something clear and seen. This passage lists many different instruments as a way to remind us that everyone living has a responsibility and opportunity to respond to God, regardless of what that may look like for them. You may not be like these regular church people but you are called to respond to God in your own way. This passage reminds us that this process looks different for different people. You may love people with more reckless abandon as a way to say thank you and respond to the goodness of God. You may give of time and resources. You may pray for people in your own private place without them even knowing. You may mention people's names in rooms they aren't in so that they can achieve more. You may encourage those around you. You may have compassion for those who don’t deserve it because God had compassion when you didn’t deserve it. All of these reactions may look slightly different but they’re all coming from the same root of praise. They’re all just reactions to who God has been. The cool thing about instruments is that they may look, sound and be played in different ways but they’re all engaging in the same process.
Sound is simply your ears picking up on the movement of molecules in the air. All sound you hear is just vibration coming from a pipe, string, drum or electrical impulse being acted upon. Whether the instrument is a harp making noise through the vibration of strings or a drum making noise through the vibration that comes from striking it, all sound is simply a reaction to a force acting upon it. So whatever you do, don't hold back your reaction to the goodness of God. It may not be understood by others but they’ll get it when they experience it. God desired you when no one else did. He believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself. And get this, no matter how broken or messed up you or your life may be, He still wants to use you in this symphony of life that points others to Him. As you react, you prompt others to react. You are needed in the body of Christ. I know you don’t know it all and have made mistakes. But the instrument that is you was intentionally created by God and placed in your situation so that your reaction to Him could be heard, seen and experienced.
I don't care if your reaction is you just being there for people you love or serving in church. Our reactions to God are typically best done through trying to copy what He did for us. If God believed in you when others didn't, do that for someone else. If God provided for you when you had nothing, do that for someone else. If God trusted you when you didn't deserve it, do that for someone else. Your reaction to God being God is passing it on. You are often most equipped to pass on the things that most impacted you. I'm an extrovert who really appreciates the moments when people saw me as a new kid and reached out to make me feel a part and I have the same gifts and opportunity to do that for someone else. I appreciate being encouraged and reassured in what I'm doing and God is leading me to. That means that I have a unique calling and opportunity to pass it on and affirm, value, listen to and love others the same way others did that for me. You have a unique opportunity to praise God in a way that reverberates out and affects other people. And that vibration will be the catalyst for others to see and experience a taste of God through you. So let your light shine. Be an instrument. Praise.
One way you can pass on what God did for you through this devotional is by supporting. Don’t hoard the inspiration and motivation you have received. You can continue to pass it on by donating, sharing and praying for this ministry.
