This morning as I read in Psalm, I was reminded that I am to sing praise to the LORD continuously. I am studying in Psalm 89 and noticed the first 18 verses were the praises for the LORD. There is not any asking for anything, it is just praising and it all begins with verse one and the acknowledgment of the steadfast love of the LORD.
“1I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.”
— Psalm 89:1 (ESV)
I have to remember to sing of His love to all and at all times. I have to open with praise and thanksgiving and be sure to stick with it. Jesus taught us to pray with The Lord’s Prayer and it opens the same as this passage in Psalm, with praise to the LORD.
“1Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.’”
— Luke 11:1-2 (ESV)
I am to start everything off with bring praise and glory to the LORD. In my singing I praise Him first and for a while. I am to give Him the glory that He deserves before all else. I am to lift Him up above all else.
I know that when I do lift Him up continuously, my mindset changes and I am less likely to be concerned with my own wants and will be more inclined to ask for those things that will guide me more in the direction of doing His will. The selfish requests are subsided and I am able to focus on the tasks that the LORD has for me. I take away the self and move to serving others. I am thankful for the life given and content in what I have received and can now spread that life to others knowing that I am doing the work of the LORD.
Singing to the LORD is the expression of our relationship with the LORD. That relationship is not one sided and for the LORD to give and we ask for more and simply take what He provides. I have to remember that I am to be giving as well, though there is nothing the LORD “needs” in order to make in the world as He is the LORD after all. But, I do have an important thing to give and I have to remember to make it a center of my relationship with Him, praise, glory, and thanksgiving. I have to remember that I can give praise, glory, and thanksgiving to the LORD for all that He has provided me. I have received wondrous gifts and must be thankful for those gifts. I have to remember to lead with that praise, glory, and thanksgiving and not just for a moment, but make it the focus of my relationship with Him. When I am thankful for what I have received, my wants are minimal and I focus on service of others as opposed to myself.
What do your conversations with the LORD look like? Are you giving more time to asking for something and less to thanking Him? What if you sang praise, glory, and thanksgiving to Him and allowed those to dominate the conversation, how much different would you daily outlook be?
Trevor's Thoughts 