REVIVE MY HEART TO PRAISE HIM

I must confess that when I got up this morning my thoughts changed quickly. I took two steps from my bed and discovered that our bedroom floor was soaked. I said, “Oh—God bless America.” I don’t think it really counted as a prayer for our nation. What a way to start the morning!

Having cleaned things up, I sit here aware of my need to confess my sin to the Lord. While I didn’t start my day wanting to praise the Lord, I have reason to be thankful. First, God graciously forgive me of ALL my sin. I am His child and nothing can separate me from His love. Second, we have needed the rain. God has watered the earth and some of it just overflowed in to my bedroom is all. Third it could have been a much bigger mess. We’ve had up to three inches of water cover the floor, but thankfully it only affected about a third of the room.

• I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
  I will tell of all your wonders.
  Psalms 9:1 NIV

Praise should be a natural part of our day. God has been gracious to you today. Regardless of the circumstances that you may face, have you been made aware of His goodness to you? Have you stopped to give thanks to God today? If we remain silent and let a day go by without giving praise to the Lord then we are guilty of the sin of ingratitude.

Ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy. Because of their disease these men had become outcasts excluded even from being with their family. Jesus sent them to show themselves to the priests according to the requirements of the law. As they went all ten were cleansed of their leprosy. Only one stopped and ran back to find Jesus. With a loud voice this man gave praise to God and fell at Jesus feet thanking Him for healing him (see Luke 17:11-19).

It’s easy to be like the other nine, to go on about the activity of our day and forget to give praise to the Lord. Yet when we neglect to praise the Lord with thanksgiving we forfeit the benefits of praise. Through our worship we grow strong in the Lord and are spiritually energized. Praise excites our hope and increases our faith. Praise lifts our burdens and our hearts are renewed. Our praise also spills over to benefit others as well. Others who walk through the valley of despair or carry the weight of anxiety will be encouraged to likewise praise the Lord. The weak will be strengthened and revived through our song of praise. Magnify the Lord with me! (Psalm 34:3)

I will revive my heart to praise Him today. What do you think?