Offering Praise to God
Praise is not just for Sunday
There are so many ways to go about establishing a prayer routine.
Schedule a regular time each day
schedule the topic you will pray about each day
keep a prayer journal or list to track your prayers and answers
pray for a particular group of people each day (family members, members of your congregation, friends, local community, etc.)
choose a scripture to pray for any and all of the above
combine any of these ideas.
At the end of the day, you just need to pray.
If you spend all day planning it, thinking about it, and organizing it, you may forget to ACTUALLY pray.
There are four main types of prayer - supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks. Don’t you like how one of the “types” is just PRAYER? Anyway, the point is to bring a message to the One with whom you want to communicate. Different messages for different circumstances.
What is not on this list from 1 Timothy 2:1 is PRAISE. Personally, I believe this one falls into the “prayer” category, but it doesn’t really matter. Praise is praise. Express to God what you are aware He has done for you, around you, and for others. Somtimes praise is thanksgiving. Sometimes it is just telling God what you’ve learned about God. The Psalms are full of both.
So where do you begin to bring prayers of Praise to God?
Scripture can help with that!
Psalm 113:5-9 says,
”Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.
He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!”
Verses 5-6 ask a question that you can then spend your time in prayer answering in your own words.
Verses 7-9 give you examples of answers to that question. Use them to guide you to find answers that match your circumstances.
Try using Psalm 113:5-6 as your prayer prompt. Write it out (yep, I’m always going to suggest writing out scripture) then write out the thoughts this question spurs. There are many, many Psalms that talk about what God has done (I’m not going to list them here, it’s worth the search to start in chapter 1 and discover those for yourself). Every book in scripture has events, comments, and teachings given that point what God has done and Who He is (it is kind of the point of the book after all). Use them to nudge your mind to form your own words for what God has done in your life
Once you’re done, you can move on to pray about other things - but it is also OK to JUST spend time praising God.
Give it try. Tell God what you’ve learned about Him. Speak to God about what His word has taught you about Him, about His Spirit, and about His Son.
You might be delighted to learn your own sense of trust and faith in Him as GOD and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6) is strengthened through the process.
Enjoy!
PS - If you have thoughts about what God has done in your life feel free to share them!