19/06/2013 - TRUE PRAISE

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I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.

Psalm 86:12

If you walk on the Lord’s path, you will be walking in truth; if your heart is united to fear the name of Jesus, you will become victorious in all battles. Then something wonderful will happen in your life: you will praise the Almighty with all your heart and will glorify the invincible name of the Son of God forever. By following these steps, you will become a man or woman after the Father’s heart.

Praising the Lord is more than saying mere words. Oftentimes, due to being in sin, an individual may provoke God’s wrath, even if he or she kneels down in worship, saying how much they love Him, singing halleluiahs and using the same words the true worshipers use to glorify the Holy Name of God. He who is in error and tries to curry favor with the Lord is nothing more than a hypocrite.

The verse we are studying follows the same message of the previous one. Do you understand that God does not want formality and empty words, which do not express what is in fact in people’s heart? How can anyone say that God is good if he did not prove it? Any decent person gets suspicious when someone they do not know starts to butter them up, right? You can be sure that the same occurs with our Father.

True praise is done with all our heart. No one, being in distress, thanks God for health, prosperity and other blessings they need but do not have. A religious person can, at most, pay lip service. Praising the Lord wholeheartedly is the prerogative of those who have been delivered from evil, for they speak with such authority that they even astonish those who listen to them.

Those who are healed or receive blessings by faith are aware of the fact that it happened because of Jesus’ name. Years may go by but they will not forget the day when the sacred Name of the Lord helped them. This is true praise, something that has a cause and, therefore, shows those around them that they were helped by the heavenly power. The truth is that God heals, delivers and helps those who follow His directions.

The praise that pleases God must come from Him. So, let the Holy Spirit open the Scriptures to you and then your life will be a real source of gratitude and praise to God. We must praise Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

David was used to write what the Almighty proved to be true. The Psalmist asked and God taught him to walk in His ways and in turn he walked in the Truth. David’s heart was united to the fear of the name of the Lord, and as a result the enemy preferred not to confront him because he would certainly be defeated. May your heart also be united to God so that you can always be victorious!

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares