The Benefits of Praise (Heb 13:15)
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that proclaiming the glory of his name."
There are numerous benefits of praise that are often overlooked by many in our busy world. Those who understand these benefits and appropriate them are enriched, empowered and enabled by the Spirit of God to experience higher levels of Christlike transformation, fruitfulness and blessings.
1. LIGHTER LOADS AND LESS FRUSTRATION - People who praise God for His power, sovereignty and omnipotence do not have to carry around excess burdens and frustrations. When we praise God during times of distress, disappointment or difficulty we are able to completely give all the weight of adverse circumstances to the Lord’s care. Human pride often stands in the way of surrendering our rights of control to the Lord. When we praise God for His mighty power we are acknowledge that we are weak and He is strong. Praise helps us realize that He is able to take us through any dark valley and bring us through successfully according to His will.
2. LESSENED GUILT - Those who praise God are released from the burden of guilt when they experience the freedom of God’s forgiveness and cleansing from all our unrighteousness. Praising God for His ability to free us from the tyranny, power and chains of sin enables us to give us our negativity toward ourselves and others as well. Praising God helps us realize that He purifies, perfects and cleanse ourselves through the powerful blood of Christ that helps us progress from one degree of glory to another just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Greater praise results in greater sanctification.
3. LESSENED JUDGMENTALISM - Greater praise helps us realize that we too easily become disappointed with ourselves and others because of our critical sinful nature. When we praise God it helps us realize that judgment is from the Lord and not our business. Critical people are often individuals who need to praise God more for His ability to take care of troublesome people. Praise helps us remember that if we sin we do so to the Lord and He will repay to each for what they have done. We can leave all judgmentalism to the Lord to recompense everyone justly.
4. LESSENED COMPLAINTS - When we praise God for who He is and what He has done we reduce the tendency to murmer and complain about our hurt feelings. Praise reinvigorates us with a renewed sense of appreciation for how He helps us overcome evil with good instead of allowing evil to overcome us. Praise has a way of soothing our hurt feelings and minimizing our tendency to give in to self-pity. Paul learned how to be content in every circumstance because He knew that He could praise God for the promise , "I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power." (Phil. 4:12,13)
5. LESSENED STRESS - People who consistently praise God are less apt to complain about God’s training methods. When we praise God we will be more submissive, content and yielded to His will. When we are suffering from pain we will find that praise alleviates our tendency to give in to feelings of bitterness, fear or anger. Praise has a way of releasing us from our sinful desire to take control back from the Lord. By praising God for His sovereignty we are saying, "Lord, I know you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:1,2) Praise alleviate our anxiety as we allow our hearts and minds to remain in Christ Jesus according to Phil. 4:6-8. We continue to praise God for His truth, nobility, righteousness, purity, loveliness, excellence, admirability and praise-worthy splendor.
6. LESSENED WEAKNESS - Praising God gives us greater confidence in God’s ability to be greater than any problem. Jesus said, IN the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world." (I JOhn 4:4) Praise gives us greater intimacy with the God who is greater than any person, problem or circumstance we may face.
7. LESSENED UNCERTAINTY - When we praise God we have a renewal of all His blessed assurances. Paul wrote, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Eph. 1:3) Praise helps us be reminded of the unlimited resources we have in Christ that represent a vast reservoir of heavenly provisions. They who seek the Lord will not lack one good thing, David, a man of praise, wrote.
8. LESSENED NEED TO UNDERSTAND - When we praise God we are less insistent on our right to know why certain things happen to us. We are less apt to react with anger, bitterness or worry when we turn all our perplexities over to the Lord. Paul wrote, "I am perplexed but not in distress ... always bearing in my body the death of the Lord Jesus so that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in my body." (2 Cor. 4:4-8) People who praise God do not feel the need to understand why adversity falls on the wicked and righteous alike. Let us praise God that He has the capacity to work all things together for good for those of us who love Him and are fitting into His plan. (Rom. 8:28)
9. LESSENED NEED TO DEPEND ON OUR OWN RESOURCES - We can praise God and experience less of a need to rely on ourselves, our resources and our people because we know the promise is true, "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) When we are not feeling confident or self-assured we can praise God that He gives us the wherewithal to accomplish everything He asks us to do with the help of Christ who supplies us emotionally, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually. You will never lack any if you praise God for His enabling ability to take you through every trial and make you better for it.
10. LESSENED NEED TO FEEL IN CONTROL - Praising God helps us gain greater confidence in God’s ability to take us through any dark valley. We do not have to pretend to be such a self-sufficient, rugged individual or stoic. We do not have to plagued ourselves with questions like, "What did I do wrong?" Some things are beyond our ability to control. We do not always have to analyze all the reasons why things did not go perfectly. Sometimes we set ourselves up for disappointment when we fail to say like Job, Even though He slay me yet will I praise Him." Praising God recognizes that He is sovereign, loving and perfectly in control of all our circumstances. We do not have to judge our circumstances knowing that He is sovereign in every situation, pain and problem.
Let us follow the admonition of David who wrote, "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord. The humble will hear it and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears." (Psa 34:1-4)
