Full-body

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his ·Temple [holy place; or holiness];  praise him in his ·mighty heaven [strong firmament]. Psalm 150:1

Praise begins in the presence of God. If I can’t praise God in His presence, how can I praise God when I’m “out and about”. Praising God directly in His presence, is the foundation for praising God elsewhere. 

Praise in prayer. So often, prayers are more of asking or telling God what we want, “making our requests known”. But prayer should be more that just asking. Prayer needs to begin with praise and honor to God. For when I praise God, that changes my perspective from me and my wants to God and His will and goodness. 

This morning, I made a cup of instant coffee. I filled a mug with water, put it in the microwave, and after the water was hot, I started to drink it. It was very weak tasting. I had forgotten to add the coffee! If I pray only asking for things, not only is my prayer life going to weak, but I’ll miss out on the “full-body” flavor of what prayer is all about. 

Praise should be the first and most often ingredient in prayer. Praising God is the essence of prayer and creates a heart in me ready to be molded to God’s plan and purpose. 

To create a positive day, and to make my prayers and life “full-body” I need to be praising God Almighty!