How Praise and Thanksgiving Changes our Perspective -

Praise and thanksgiving can be very powerful in our Christian journey as we grow our relationship with God. To wait well and go through the valleys of life well, we need praise & thanksgiving.

One morning, I woke up so drained with everything I thought wasn’t working in my life. I was ready to spend some time talking to God and ask him why He let things get so far gone. Why He hadn’t intervened in this particular situation, where He was? I create this small rule for myself. Every time I start prayer, before I ask for anything, I can’t start first with thanksgiving and praise.

As I started praying, I had a long list of things in mind that I wanted to tell God. I had a long list of things to complain about. By the time I was done with the first step of praise and thanksgiving, I realized I had nothing to complain about. My heart was full of gratitude and peace that I ended laughing at myself. That’s when I discovered the power of praise and thanksgiving.

What is Praise?

Praise simply means to revere or worship. In this case, worship God. The Hebrew word for praise is yadah which can interchangeably mean to give thanks, to praise or to confess. When you recount God’s goodness in your life and tell him how wonderful He is, you are thanking and giving praise.

I would be lying to you if I said that its always easy to praise and give thanks, especially when life feels heavy. But I have come to learn these are often the moments when we need to praise and thank God the most, even we feel like it the least.

Psalm chapter 50, God talks about all the things He can do in His power. Verse 12 He says, If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. I am interested in verse 23 where He says that whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.

God understands that life is hard, He understands that things aren’t where you would like them to be, but He also doesn’t want us to complain, worry or be burdened about it. Instead we are to offer sacrifices of praise. We worship, praise and give thanks even when its hard because it’s a sacrifice we are bringing to God.

A verse I love from the song Praise by Elevation worship says I’ll praise in the valley, I’ll praise on the mountain. I’ll praise when I am sure I’ll praise when I’m doubting. Whether things go my way or not, I will praise the Lord because God is always good. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to give thanks for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Thanksgiving and praise shift our focus to what truly matters. As we thank God, we become more aware of His presence, and He fills our hearts with the peace and strength we need to keep going when life gets hard.

Here is a list some of my chapter in the book of Psalms on praise and thanksgiving that I read through when life gets heavy to remind me always that God remains to be a good Father.

Powerful Scriptures on Praise and Thanksgiving

We praise not because we hope to get something in return, we praise for genuine reverence for who God is. How mighty and awesome He is. How powerful and excellent He is.

The next time you notice complain in your heart, discouragement, frustration or pain, try praise and thanksgiving. Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord.

Many times when you sit still and look back, there’s so much that God has done. There’s evidence of His goodness everywhere. If He has brought you through before He will do it again and again.

As always, thank you so much for making it this far. Can I ask you for a favor? If this message spoke to you, please share it with someone who needs to read it. If you feel led, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you and will make sure to respond.

Till next time, and God bless you.