Why You Should Always Start With Praise

One way to communicate with God is via prayer.  Another way we can and should communicate with God is via praise.  We can offer praise to God through speaking or singing.  Praise benefits both God and us.  Praise allows us to connect with God on a deeper level.  I’d like to spend a little time sharing with you some things God has shown me about praise and specifically why it’s so important to always start with praise.

Over the years, God really impressed upon me the importance of praise.  It’s honestly not an area that I’ve always been strong in.  To me, praise and worship of God have always felt a little awkward (with the exception of praise and worship music at church).  It seems a little fake if I try to praise God the way I’ve seen others do it in church and on TV.  I’m not saying THEY were fake.  It just didn’t feel genuine to me or seemed too forced when I would attempt to say things like “Oh Lord, you are most holy” or “You are worthy”.  So since it just felt too weird, I simply didn’t do it.

Praise God for who you need him to be

Then God softly convicted me about my lack of praise.  He showed me how I could still give praise to him without it feeling strange or insincere.  I felt like God told me one day to just praise him for who I needed him to be.  He wanted me to praise him for his attributes and characteristics that I needed to experience.

For example, if I need healing, I would say, “I praise you, God, because you are a Healer.”  If I need comfort, I can say, “Praise God that you are my Comforter.”  If I need to feel loved, I can praise, “Praise you Lord that you are Love.  Your word says God is Love.”  If I don’t know what to do in a situation or need direction, I can say, “Praise you, God, because you are my Guide.”

For me, this is a simple approach to praise.  It doesn’t seem phony, forced, or unnatural.  It’s almost like a prayer request, but instead, I am offering praise because it’s who God is.  At the same time, praising this way gives me peace and reassurance because not only am I praising God, but I’m also reminding myself that God is the answer to whatever it is I need at the time.

Praising God reminds us of his benefits

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV) 

Praise God for who you need him to be. #HowtoPraise #AlwaysStartWithPraise

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Praise as a part of prayer

This method of praising God was also reinforced when I started praying in a local Moms in Prayer group.  There are 4 steps of prayer used during weekly time together.  We always start with praise as the first step and focus on one attribute, name, or character trait of God.  Every prayer session begins by praising God for who He is.  We also back that praise up by reading scripture that demonstrates that attribute.  It’s easy to praise God when you are praising him for needs that He is meeting simply because that’s just who He is.

This first step of praying also reiterated to me the importance of entering things with praise.  God was trying to teach me to always start with praise.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

We should start church services with praise.  We should start our prayer time with praise.  Furthermore, we should start our quiet times/Bible reading times with praise.

Ultimately, we should start our day with praise.

Always start with praise.  

Why?

• When we start with praise it prioritizes God. It shows that we are thinking about and putting him first above our needs.  We talk about this in How to Pray: Using the Lord’s Prayer as an Example—First honor, then ask.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

• When we start with praise it sets the tone/atmosphere/mood and prepares our hearts to receive and hear from God. Praise does something to our heart and our mood to make it easier to hear his voice.  It also has a pleasant, calming effect on our demeanor.

“Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely.” Psalm 147:1 (HCSB)

• When we start with praise it invites and brings God’s tangible presence in with us. God inhabits, lives in, dwells in the praises of his people. We can feel God’s presence when we praise.

“But you are holy, O you that inhabit the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3 (AKJV)

• When we start with praise it gives God his part. We are demonstrating an exchange and a two-part relationship.  By praising we are being givers, not just takers or consumers who are looking just to get something.  God is worthy of our praise.

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” Psalm 145:3 (NIV)

Give God his part

I remember one time that I was out of town visiting some family.  We were going to go to church with them, and I had asked what time we needed to be ready to leave.  We were told that we didn’t really need to be there until 9:30 because that’s when the preaching was.  I asked if that’s when church started and was then told that church actually started at 9:00 but that was “just the singing and stuff”.

All of a sudden I kind of had a pang in my heart, and I got a strong impression that that statement had hurt God.  I felt as if God were saying, “That’s such a selfish way of looking at church—to only go to get something out of it and not to give any to me at all.”  I feel like the praise and worship at church are God’s part of the service where we can freely give him what He is truly worthy of receiving (even though we benefit and receive from praising too!).

We need to realize that we hurt God when we treat him like a “sugar daddy”.  I once heard John Gray say, “Worship is the one thing that God cannot give himself.  We get to freely give to God what He cannot give to himself.”  What an honor it is to praise our God and to give him what He cannot give to himself.

Take Some Practical Steps to Always Start With Praise:

• First, start with praise by writing down a list of God’s attributes or characteristics.

This can serve as a “cheat sheet” or prompt for times when you aren’t sure or don’t know what to praise God for.  Keep this somewhere handy to refer to when you might need it…in your journal, in your Bible, on a nightstand, etc.  If you’re not sure what to write or if your list is short, go to the Bible.  The book of Psalms has endless characteristics and qualities of God for which David praised him.  You can also get a few ideas by clicking on this post for some attributes of God from A to Z, this post with examples of praising God, or check out this reference for Attributes of God provided by Moms in Prayer.

• Secondly, start with praise by saying something that you praise God and thank God for before you even step foot out of your bed in the morning.

I picked this tip up from Joyce Meyer a long time ago.  She’s done a lot of teaching on starting your day right.  Praise is one of the best ways to do that.

• Next, start with praise by playing/singing some praise and worship songs as you start your morning routine.

I talked about this before as one of the 10 Ways to Get Through a Hard Time (see #3).  I started doing this when God started convicting me about making praise a routine.  Typically, I begin my day (after saying a praise quietly before getting up) by rolling into the kitchen and making my coffee and breakfast while playing and singing along to some praise music on my phone.

I usually use my playlists that I’ve created on YouTube.  (Creating playlists are easy.  You just create a free YouTube account and then search for your favorite songs.  Some of my favorites are from Phil Wickham, Hillsong, Elevation Worship, and Bethel Music in addition to many of the classic hymns.  Once you’ve found your song(s), you just click the +Add to playlist icon, or just “like” it or mark it as a favorite and it will be saved to your profile for you to access again later. Spotify is another great app for playlists.)

• Then, start with praise by praising God at the start of your prayer time.

Before you begin praying, just spend a few moments praising God.  This is a great time to praise him for who you need him to be.  Use some of the character traits from the list you created.

• Also, start with praise by praising God at the beginning of your quiet time/Bible reading time.

You can actually combine this with the previous step if you start your quiet times with prayer (which I usually do).  This is a good time to praise him as your guide since He will be directing you and speaking to you as you read your Bible and devotions.

• Start with praise by writing something down that you praise God and/or are thankful to God for in your journal at the beginning of each day.

There are a number of ways to do this too.  You can use the same journal that you take notes in during your quiet time.  You can use a gratitude journal.  Alternatively, you can use a gratitude journal app for a smartphone.  I mentioned these ideas and more in 6 Simple Ways to Stay Thankful Year Round.

• Finally, start with praise by NOT missing out or zoning out on praise and worship time at church.

Remember to be a giver and not just a taker.  Remember to give God his part.

*Side note…

Just as a side note too, it’s a good life skill to always to start with praise too.  For example, if you need to correct a subordinate, student, or child, it’s a good idea to start by telling them what they are doing right.  The same goes for making a complaint.  Starting a criticism by first offering praise will soften the blow and help the other person to receive it better.

I hope this week you start a new habit of always starting with praise!  Pick one or more of the steps above to start putting into action and see the difference it makes.

How do you start with praise?  Which of the steps are you going to commit to start doing to make a habit to always start with praise?  Tell us about it by leaving a comment below. 

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If you have benefited from this post or if you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward and share this post with them via the sharing links below! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV) 

*Update: Originally posted 10/6/2015