Keep the Praise Going!

Read: Psalm 34:1

Reflect: What does it mean to “praise” God? What are some ways that you can do that?

Request (Prayer): Father, teach me how to praise You the way that You want to be praised.

Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” If we are to continually praise God through our mouth, does that mean that I have to sing worship songs all day?! No, not necessarily. Although that isn’t a bad thing to do, what does the Psalmist mean by saying that the praise to God should always be in our mouth?

I think what he’s trying to say is that this “praise” to God is something that we should always be doing, whether it be the way we speak, the actions we take or the things we think, it should continually be a life of praise to God.

Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we should do all of it to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Whatever it is we do, we are to do to the glory of God, and if we are to have the praise of God continually in our mouth, then shouldn’t our praise and worship to God be glorifying to Him?

How does one keep the praise of God continually in our mouth, and glorify God at the same time? Well, we must understand that worship isn’t just the singing of praise songs to God, but worship is also a lifestyle. Worship is the way you live your life, and worship is determined by what you spend your time doing. Is God continually on your mind? Do you think about Him a lot and what He likes and dislikes? Do you actually have a relationship with Him?

Putting Psalm 34:1 into practice isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it is definitely the most beneficial thing to do. How so? If my mouth is continually in praise of God, I can know for certain, that in the good times and in the bad, that I can continually praise God because I know that He deserves the praise, even when I face trials, because He is with me.

Do you have the praise of God on your mouth? Do you have the Word of God in your heart? Do you trust in Him even through the hard times? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, but in all of your ways, acknowledge God and He will make your path straight.”