Proclaim
"I give praise to You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth”
That’s where it begins. That’s where Jesus starts. “I give praise to You, Father.” He starts with praise. He starts with honor. He starts by putting the Father in the place of prominence. He makes it so simple. He places Himself at the feet of the Father and chooses to reside under the Father’s authority. With Jesus’ proclamation of praise, He lifts the Father into a place of glory, and it is only through the Father that Jesus is glorified.
Jesus allows Himself to be great, only BECAUSE of His connection with His Father.
How do you allow yourself to be great? Do you parade your giftings? Or hold up your virtues? I wish I could say that I don’t. But I do. It’s my first instinct - to prove myself.
But that’s not where Jesus starts, so it’s not where I should start. Where does it start with you? When we start with praise, we become childlike. When we lift God above ourselves, we open ourselves up to receive Him. When we let Him have the final word, when we let Him be the big, glorious God that He is, we get to be like children.
When we praise, we GET to be like children.
So often, we try to have it all together. So often, we use our gifts, talents, and skills to get by. We sort out our next five steps, we create a vision for our lives, and we work towards a specific goal. So often, we are wrapped up in our own plans. But when we praise, we let God be bigger. When we praise, we let God be bigger than ourselves.
When we praise, we let God be BIGGER than our plans.
Our praise changes us. God doesn’t need it. He deserves it, absolutely, but He doesn’t need it. We need it. We need praise because our praise changes us. Our praise moves us back into alignment with the truth - we are little children before a very loving Father - we are small, and He is big. When we praise, our hearts can rest. We remind ourselves of how good He is, how often we need Him, and how much He loves.
We need praise because it transforms us.
Praise breaks down walls, softens our hearts, and makes space for God to move. When we proclaim the truth, something new rises within us - whether we feel it or not. When we come into agreement with Jesus about God’s goodness and faithfulness, we come back to Him. Sometimes, we have to sing it or say it over and over and over again until we believe it. But that’s the great thing about praise -
Praise BOLSTERS OUR BELIEF in the TRUTH of WHO WE ARE and WHO GOD IS.
Whether you believe it today or not, when you proclaim that God is good, when you lift Him up with praise - it’s going to impact your belief. It will give you hope. It will increase your faith. It’s not always easy, but it is always good.
Father,
Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your goodness. Thank You for loving us unconditionally. Father, give us the courage to praise You at all times.
Let your praise be ever on our lips (Ps 34:1).
Help us to proclaim Your praise - Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your belief, and every other awesome thing about You. Father, teach us how to praise You. Teach us how to love You with all our hearts.
Remind us to praise when the going gets tough. Help us remember the power of praise. Help us to recall the power of remembering Your faithfulness to us. Father, we are nothing without You. We love You.
Help us to PROCLAIM Your glory, God!