The first few verses of this beautiful psalm of praise by David show us 3 practical ways in which we can honor our Lord daily. Following these 3 steps will strengthen and enhance our walk with Jesus.
Praise Him every day
“Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever” (vs 2)
There is so much to praise God for and we should be lifting our praise to Him every day. Let us start our day with praise and end it with praise! Let us praise Him as we walk the streets, as we sit at our desk and as we travel. Praise is contagious and soon others will follow your example.
Illustration – I remember a Christian leader saying that as he was travelling in the bus one day and enjoying the beautiful scenery around him, he couldn’t help humming the powerful hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’. The person seated next to him soon turned and said, ‘Feels so true doesn’t it’? A short while later, a few others in the bus started humming the great hymn! That’s the power of praise!
Have you praised God today? Read the rest of the Psalm (21 verses in all) and identify with the many reasons David praised God ‘EVERY DAY’.
“My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord” (vs 21)
Meditate on His works
“I will meditate on your wonderful works” (vs 5b)
The works of God are revealed in His powerful Word. We also see them in creation, in our own lives and in the lives of others. Let us meditate on His Word and His works. Meditating on God’s Word will also help us memorize that Word so that we could use it as the ‘sword of the Spirit’ against the enemy’s attacks. Meditating on His works lifts our faith whenever a new challenge comes our way.
A preacher once mentioned that meditating on God’s Word can be compared to a cow ‘chewing the cud’. As the cow receives help with its digestion when it chews the cud, so we too can receive all the strength contained in God’s Word as we spend a few minutes or more, meditating on it. It is interesting to note that The Collins English Dictionary describes the term ‘chewing the cud’ as follows – ‘to reflect or think over something’.
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” (Psalm 119:97)
Proclaim His Great Deeds
“.. I will proclaim your great deeds” (vs 6b)
What has God done for you recently? How did He bring you to salvation? Have you been telling others about His blessings to you? Have you been sharing them with your children? I rejoice in the fact that my 2 sons aged 11 and 9, love to hear my stories about God’s interventions in my life and ministry. In fact, they often ask for repeats!
“One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts” (vs 4).
Why should we proclaim God’s great deeds? We need to do it “so that all men may know of your (God’s) mighty acts” (vs 12). Yes, we need to tell people about God’s goodness.
Last week, at our midweek service, I was praying at the altar with a young man over a burden he was carrying in a very personal area of his life. As I shared my own testimony in that particular area of life and how God came through for me, his eyes lit up and he shouted, ‘Yes, I now believe God can do it for me too”!
There is power in proclaiming ‘His great deeds’, more so, when we tell people about His mighty ‘saving grace’ in our lives! They just might want what you have!
May Jesus our Lord strengthen you as you honor Him in these 3 ways daily.