The Priority of Praise

Pastor Lance continues "Pathway to Praise" with six exhortations highlighting why praise is so vital for the people of God.

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Episode Transcript

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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

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in those months. And when you, you think about
all the, all, the, all the songsthat 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

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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.

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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 seasonis all about Him.
So our celebration consists of acontemplation.
Outside of that, it consists of a consideration and the word to

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consider is a is a mathematical term where where whereby you add
up all the facts and come to theright 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.

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And that contemplation leads to a consideration which leads to a
commemoration, that is, we underunderstand who Christ is and we
remember all that he has done, which allows our celebration to
be that which is beyond what theworld gives because it honors
and glorifies the name of Christ.

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And when you commemorate someone, you remember them.
And it's so important for us to do that.
The Bible says in second Dividey28, Paul says to Timothy
remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from
the dead, which is my gospel. Why would Paul tell Timothy to

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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

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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

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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 heoffered up a voice of
Thanksgiving to God. Now, did Jonah forget about the

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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.

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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.

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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 Himnow, 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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
created and wonderfully made, and we need to remember that we
were made specifically by God. So we are to remember the works

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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

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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

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commitment to him when we look at his ways and his works.
The reason we don't remember theways of God is because we are
all about our ways and the Biblesays there is a way would seem
with the right into the way. There is a way that steameth

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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

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comfort myself. Psalmist knew that his comfort
would come because he paid very close attention to the
ordinances of God and then wouldact 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

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comes to those who obey the wordof 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

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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

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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

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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 donewonderful things.

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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

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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

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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

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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 hislife because he wants to give
praise to his God. He's been created to give praise

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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.

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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

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we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. Enter His gates with
Thanksgiving and His courts withpraise.
Give thanks to Him, bless his name.

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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

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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

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at the same time, and there's noplace 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 goto, we don't enter into courts
and gates with praise because our body is a temple of the Holy

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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.

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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.

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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 presentwith you.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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deliverer, his Savior, his bulwark, his shield.
God was everything to him, and David recognized that in those
years in which he journeyed awayfrom 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

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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, andwho is a rock except our God?
The guy who girds me with strength and makes my way

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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.

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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 andking 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

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to wield the sword, that God wasthe 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.

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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.

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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.

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And so enter his presence with Thanksgiving and praise, and
there there is nothing but protection from God.
So we recognize that praise is apriority because it escorts me
into the divine presence and it encompasses me with divine

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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 divineperspective.
Praise elevates me to the divineperspective, praises that which
enables me to see what God is doing.

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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,

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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

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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

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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

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will watch as God speaks. And then in chapter 3, he simply
worships and witnesses for his God.
What would change in the life ofHabakkuk?
The circumstances never changed.The circumstances would remain

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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

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

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and report about you, and I fearGod 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

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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

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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 onthe vines, though the yield of

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the olive should fail and the fields produce no fruit, though
the flock should be cut off fromthe 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

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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.

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And he would, he would, he wouldact decisively because he paid
very close attention to what Godhas 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

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that kind of perspective. We we think so logically that we
can't think theologically. But biblicists think
theologically because they thinktheocentrically.
They think God's mind, God's thoughts, and the only way to do

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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

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the prophet of God had to had tolearn 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 wouldbegin to lift his voice and
praise to God. Why?
Because he would see things fromGod's perspective.

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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.

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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 thoughyou don't know what's happening,
you begin to lift your voice andpraise.
You've entered his courts with Thanksgiving and praise, so
you've entered into the divine presence of God, because praise

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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 topraise him all the more.
That's why the Bible says, the people that I have formed for

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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

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important. God was at work.
God was going to do something for Israel that the only way he
could accomplish His feet was toget them into captivity for 70
years. Yes, they were paying for the
consequences of the sin, but Godwas doing the work in their
lives to move them to, to anticipate the arrival of their
Messiah. God had a plan for a whole

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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 shoutjoyfully into His name, and all
of a sudden you'll begin to see things very clearly from the

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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

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which enables us through divine power.
Praise is that which enables us through divine power.
You know the Bible says that Godhas not given us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power,the presence of God's Spirit.

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In Acts chapter 1, the Lord saidto his disciples, You shall
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

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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 wethink we can't accomplish, but
God says you can because they'vealready equipped you with my
spirit, and my spirit resides within you.

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The problem is we don't lift ourvoices 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
chapter 20. I've used this illustration
before, but I think it's very pertinent to the point where

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King Jehoshaphat was very much afraid of the Moabites and
Ammonites and Edomites that werecoming 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

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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

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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

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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 thebattle is not yours.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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

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praised Him in holy attire as hewent 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.

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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,

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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.

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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

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that which enables us through divine power.
When we begin to praise God, thepower 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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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And praise that which enables usto divine power #5 this is so
good. Praise envelops us with divine
peace. Praise envelops us with divine
peace. You know this verse, Philippians

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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

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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 longyou'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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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'tpray with praise, we don't pray

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thanking God for what he's goingto do and how he's going to do
it. We're just so worried that he's
going to even hear my prayer andanswer 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.

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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

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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.

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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

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petitioning God. When they are, then the peace of
God, which goes beyond all kindsof human comprehension, is going
to guard you, protect you, watchover you, allow you to sleep at
night, allow you to go through life without sweaty palms.

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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

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praise the name of God with songand magnify him with
Thanksgiving, and it will pleasethe Lord.
Praise that which enriches us with divine pleasure.
Don't you? Don't you want to please the
Lord? Praise does that, Thanksgiving

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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.

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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 pleasesHim.
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.

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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.

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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 tojourney giving praise to your
God. Let's pray together.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.