Praise Attitude 2

I will give thanks and praise the Lord , with all my heart; I will tell aloud all Your wonders and marvelous deeds. PSALM 9:1 AMP

Subject of Praise
It is an individual call; a personal assignment and calling. It is not a joint effort, though it always sounds good when a group of people come together in worship to praise God. It is first a personal thing, before it becomes a group thing. "I" starts today's extract and it is instructive. God's call is NEVER to a multitude or a group of people; it is always to one person. An individual makes up his mind to walk with God, and then the effect of that decision is felt by the multitude. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Enoch all had individual stories of their decisions to follow and serve God, but we read of their generational impact centuries after.

Object of Praise
It just has to be God. Man has raised several altars to unknown gods including knowledge, possessions, power, privilege and position. Man places more stock on the things he can see and feel, forgetting that all of them are temporal. God alone lives forever, and deserves our total and complete devotion.

Attitude of Praise
The product of my entire heart and life is what God accepts. There is grave danger in halfhearted devotion/commitment to God. Man can be deceived by activities; God sees beyond activities and weighs motives. Man can applaud you, but God's approval is key to your life. Am I praising God with all my heart, living my life to please him daily?  Is my life speaking loudly about the power of God or am I just a silent observer, taking it all in and not testifying about the things that God has done?

Basis of Praise
If i carefully consider my life, I would understand the reasons for the excitement in the words of the extract above. The Psalmist had seen God at work, had seen his hand in human affairs, had seen lives changed, destinies restored, enemies defeated and purpose established in the lives of men. He just had to speak out loudly. Do I have reasons like the Psalmist to praise God? Go ahead and review your life. As at today, there are just about 6 weeks to the end of the year 2017. You do have reasons to be grateful and to testify of God's amazing power. His time of favour is here.