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From
the November, 2004 edition of The Chapel newsletter
by
Kimm Carr
Praise God!
Growing up and living most of my life in Texas, the terms “Praise God” and
“Praise the Lord” were terms I heard often. This was also true of the time
we spent in Tennessee. I can not say these terms always referred to
heartfelt praise, but to some extent, these terms had become part of the
culture. This reminds me of how we can fall into the trap of apathy and be robbed of
the joy and intimacy of being with God which we receive from praise and
worship.
Why should we praise God?
First, the Bible tells us we should praise Him. We are exhorted throughout
the book of Psalms to praise God. Secondly, we benefit from the contact with
God as it draws us close to Him.
Stop and think about the reasons that you have to praise God.
Has He met your needs? Has He protected you and your family? Are you in need
of a touch from Him?
How do we praise God?
Prayer is one way we can praise God. Praise should be a part of our prayer,
where we recognize the power and glory of God and tell Him about it. Can you
imagine how God feels if we never tell Him how we feel about Him?
Singing praise and worship songs to God is another way we can praise God. We
are blessed to have awesome praise and worship music at the Chapel in North
Canton. I love to talk to our choir members. They always say what an honor
it is to be a part of this ministry and how its focus is on God.
In a sermon a few months ago, Pastor Bennett pointed out the freedom that we
have in our worship service. In our worship services some will lift hands,
some will not. Regardless of how we praise God during praise and worship, we
need to focus on heartfelt praise.
We all have things that compete for our time and attention. These can hinder
our time with God. Even a worship service can have distractions that can
hinder our praise. Sometimes I need to close my eyes to free myself from all
distractions, and focus on Him. Sometimes I need to pray to God to clear my
mind of distractions. Isaiah 29:13 speaks of hearts being far away from the Lord and worship
following rules of man. This type of worship has little value.
In closing, let me encourage you to do a check up of your praise. Is it
heartfelt praise to the most high God? Have you told God today how you feel
about Him?
Don’t be robbed of the joy and intimacy of being with God that we can
receive from praise and worship.
Praise God!
In
Christ,
Kimm Carr
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