"Why Do You Praise Me?"

As I reflected on this question, the first thought that I had was, “Because You are worthy to be praised.” Now, if I were a contestant on Family Feud, I would probably be hearing, “Good answer! Good answer!” But my heart was telling me there is more to it than that. Searching God’s word, I found some answers to the question of why we praise God.

We praise Him because Scripture commands us to. There are numerous verses that say this, such as Psalm 150:1, which begins with the words, “Praise the Lord!” Those words appear over and over again in the book of Psalms. So, God’s word clearly tells us that praising Him is something we are supposed to do.

We praise Him because we have been created to do so. In Isaiah 43:21, God tells us that the people He created (that would be all of us!) were created so that they may proclaim His praise. God created us and breathed life into us. We should use that breath to praise Him.

We praise Him because it is good to do so. We see this in Psalm 92:1, which tells us that it is good to both thank Him and praise Him.

We praise Him because He is enthroned in our praise. He inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22 says that God is enthroned in the praise of Israel. As children of the living God, we desire to meet with and spend time with our heavenly Father. Praise allows us to do that because, when we praise Him, He is there.

And, of course, my initial answer is most definitely one of many reasons as to why we praise Him–He is worthy to be praised! There are many references to this in His word, but the one that stood out to me was Psalm 48:1, which says that God is great and worthy of praise.

Lord, thank You for creating me to praise You. Thank You for giving me the breath that allows me to sing and shout Your praise. Help me to praise You always, no matter what circumstances I find myself in. You are holy, Lord, and worthy to be praised. I praise You with all that I have, Lord, and I pray that my praise is acceptable to You, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen!