Why Do You Praise God?

“Praise God!”

“Praise the Lord!”

These are words that come easily off the lips of many of us who are followers of Jesus Christ. They seem as automatic as saying “God bless you,” when someone sneezes, or saying “please” or “thank you.” But what if someone asked “Why do you praise God?” What would you say? Why do we praise Him? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for praising God. Well, for starters, we praise God because it’s what is commanded of His people. Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!” If we are living and breathing, we should be praising the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:25 (NLT) says, “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!” We praise God because He is worthy of our praise. In fact, He is the only one who is truly worthy of our praise, a truth we see in Deuteronomy 10:21 (NLT), which says, “He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.”

We praise God in response to His nature, the things that make God who He is. For His greatness (Psalm 150:2, NIV): “Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness!” For His faithfulness (Psalm 57:9-10, NIV): “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” For His strength (Psalm 59:17, NIV): “You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.”

We praise God in response to the things He has done. For the prayers that He hears and the prayers He answers (Psalm 66:19-20, NLT): “But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.” For sending His Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 1:68-70, NLT): “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.”

But perhaps one of the best reasons we can give for why we praise God is found in Psalm 105:1-2 (NLT): “Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.” We praise God so that the whole world will come to know Him and all that He has done for each and everyone of us because of His great love for us, a love that is clearly defined in the words of John 3:16-17 (NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.