FAITH CAPSULE: What does Praising and thanking God means to you?

1 Chronicles 16

Praising and thanking God is calling on God. David, a man with exceptional way of worshiping God was identified as a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) Evidently, learning from David is a way knowing that praising God gets His attention. In the word of David, praising and giving thanks to God is a way of calling on God. David declared, “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:3) David identified praising and thanking God as calling on God to deliver him from his enemies. Praising and thanking God is an assured way of calling and getting God. As a believer, it is not enough to know about calling on God through praising and thanking Him but know to consciously know to engage praising and tanking God as a way of living life.
Praising and thanking God is also calling on God to appreciate Him. After David finally settled the ark from being moved around, he called on God to thank God. The book of 1 Chronicles 16:8 recorded David’s statement, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!” Calling on God is to make Him known. God wants attention round the clock. This testifies to the truth that, thanking God for His doing is calling upon His name to appreciate Him and declare Him to our world for what He has done. We do not only give thanks for what God has done or what He is doing but we also give thanks for what He can do or what we expect Him to do. Are you expecting God to move concerning your confronting situation? Regardless of the magnitude of your situation, believe and give thanks to God before manifestation of your expectation.

Also, thanking and praising God is declaring God. When we declare God, He decorates us. Shadrach, Meshach, Abed Nego declared God before a King who does not know God and they could not be consumed by a fiery burning furnace. (Daniel 3:16-17) Jesus declared God by praising and thanking God and He brought Lazarus back to live life after four days in the grace. It is written, “Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  (John 11:41-43) Our praising and thanking God will always provoke God to decorate us for His glory. Praising and thanking God cannot be separated. That is, praising God is thanking God and thanking God is praising God.

Prayer for today: Ask that the grace of praising and thanking God will not cease in your life.