This Week’s Challenge Is To Praise God

Are you up for a challenge?

This week’s challenge is to praise God.
Not just thank him,
but PRAISE him.

There’s a difference
between thanking God
and praising God.

We thank him for
what he does
or provides us.

We praise him for
Who He Is.

The smallest of children
can think of endless things to thank God for –
especially if they are trying to avoid chores or bedtime.

A preschooler will thank God for
mommy and daddy,
grandma and grandpa,
trampolines and triangles,
birds and bugs,
wallpaper and toilet paper,
and every single toy they own.

The list will go on until
whomever is listening to the child calls a halt.

You and I thank God for
our families,
our finances and
our friends.

We thank him for
our health and
our homes.

Our list could go on indefinitely.

Being thankful keeps us focused
on what we have
instead of what we don’t.

It wards off discontentment
and a bad case of the gimme’s.

I start off every day thanking God for his provision.
Do you do that?
I challenge myself to list at least 20 things every day.
Try it right now.

Quick think of 20-25 things
you’re thankful for.

Don’t forget to include
electricity,
curling irons,
fresh produce in winter,
kitchen appliances,
rivers of asphalt to drive on,
climate controlled cars,
washers and dryers,
medicine,
your Bible(s),
television,
soap,
freedom of worship,
grocery stores,
ball point pens,
cookbooks,
privacy,
a job,
and clean water.

Boom!
There are tons of things to be thankful for,
aren’t there?

We thank God
for what he does or provides.

We praise him for who he is.
Who He Is!

The Bible calls us to praise God.
Over 250 times in the Bible,
men,
women,
angels
and creation
Praise the Lord!

If God put it in his book that many times,
it must be important.

There are many ways to praise God.
Will you practice with me this week?

Here’s how you can get started.

Praise God for his character.
You can say …
God, I praise you because you are …
Loving.
Kind.
Gentle,
Beautiful,
Patient,
Generous,
Caring,
Fun.

You can praise God by listing who he is to you.
You can say …
God, I praise you for being my …
Father,
Husband,
Provider,
Healer,
Comfort,
Protector,
Savior,
King,
Peace.

You can praise God for his character qualities.
You can say …
God I praise you for being …
Perfect,
Unchanging,
Present in my life,
In Control of what I cannot.
Loving.
Merciful.
Wonderful.
Good.
Holy.
Just.

You can Praise God by Name:
You can say …
I praise you God for being …
The One True God
(Elohim)
The God who Sees.
(El Roi)
The God of Beginnings and the end
(Alpha and Omega)
The God of Mercy

One of my favorite preachers,
Adrian Rogers provides us a wonderful list.
Check it out here.

You can praise God by reading a psalm aloud.

Psalm 146-150
are filled with praises.

Praising is a way of
acknowledging God.
It takes practice because it’s so easy
to slip back into thankfulness.

Join me this week
learning to be more
THANKFUL.

Then practice praising God
for who he is

It’s trickier than you might think.
If you slip into THANK YOU’s,
you’ve gotten away from praising.

Let me know how you do!

Scripture: Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Psalm 148:1-6 (NIV)