1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2 Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. 3 Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. ~ Psalms 150:1-6
This is a hymn of praise to the LORD. The Psalmist is imploring everyone everywhere with everything to praise the LORD. In the little church that I grew up in as a young boy, we did not have musical instruments like electric guitars and drums; everything was done a cappella. But that is not God’s way; He wants us to praise Him with all of our instruments; Psalms 100 says to make a joyful noise unto the LORD…come before His presence with singing. Look also at the last verse of the Psalm we just read, Psalm 150:6, which says, Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
I was on vacation one time and visited a church. They, too, did not have musical instruments, but they even took it a step further. No one in the congregation raised their hands in praise or worship. No one said, “Amen,” in agreement with what the pastor was preaching, or even utter a word of encouragement for him. But God didn’t even make a distinction between the Christian or the sinner; in fact, He was very specific; He said let EVERYTHING that has breath praise Him. If you have breath in your body, you ought to be praising God.
The thing to remember here is not to get confused with intercessory prayer and praise; they are different. Prayer – except for the prayer of repentance – is for the saints; praise is for everyone, so go on and praise Him today.
Heavenly Father, I lift up a shout of praise to You today for all the blessings I enjoy, all the prayers You have answered, and for all the times that You have been there for me when no one else understood. I praise You, LORD, for who You are and for what You have done for me. I praise You and give thanks for the great work of salvation that You so freely give to everyone who will accept it. LORD, may Your great and matchless Name be lifted up in my life and among the nations, and may Your praise never depart from my lips. May songs of rejoicing continually be in my mouth, and may You be exalted in all the world, for You are good, and Your mercies endure forever. Be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
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