Reasons to Praise

Today I longed to praise God. When no words came, I began to list personal answers to prayer like, “I will praise You because of ____ and____ and ___. ” Once started, my list grew. It is still growing, but here, without order or plan, are some of my own reasons to praise a “God from Whom all blessings flow.”

Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit, I will praise You because

You give words, language and books. You must like talking, reading and writing. So do I.

You give music and tell us to make music and sing.

You give color and form and substance to stuff.

You are light, not dark.

You are peace, not contention.

You are love, not hate.

You are pure, not impure.

You are forgiving, not condemning.

You are trustworthy, not deceitful.

You are life, not death.

You are hope, not despair.

You are faithful and faith-filled, not doubting or unbelieving.

You proved faith, by living it.

You invite me to faith in a system that’s quite different from this world’s.

You relate with interest and are not indifferent to people.

You love children and innocence.

You don’t change. That means that You, Jesus are as spontaneous and flexible in response to people and circumstances now as when You lived on earth in flesh.

You are clean and not dirty.

You are good, not bad.

You are right, not wrong.

You are wise, not foolish and without understanding.

You are healing, not hurting.

You are tender and gentle, not rough and abusive.

You bless and don’t curse.

You are encouraging, not discouraging.

You are consistent, not variable and unpredictable.

You are interesting, not boring; full of wonder and mystery and never dull.

You build and build up. You do not destroy and tear down.

You create and never copy or counterfeit. You nurture creativity.

You listen.

You teach and instruct me and do not leave me to stew in my own ignorance.

You open my eyes when I am blind.

You are beautiful, not ugly.

You are not dissonance or discord, but You, Yourself, are harmony.

You are safe, not dangerous.

You are courageous, not fearful; trusting You gives me courage too.

You are stable, dependable and thoughtful, not capricious.

You comfort me and sustain me in sorrow.

You share and delight in joy and laughter.

You defeat my enemies, inside and out.

You offer me freedom, not bondage or slavery.

You give me friends, not enemies.

You died for Your friends and did not betray them.

You died for me too; You are selfless, not selfish.

You are humble and inviting, not dominating and demanding.

You are always truthful and honest, You never lie. You are Truth itself.

You are never lost but always know Your place in relationship to God and others.

You are strong and filled with the authority of love; You are not namby-pamby or weak.

You are powerful and effective.

You meekly and willingly obey and fulfill all God’s laws and desires; without being legalistic, there is nothing disobedient or rebellious in You.

You give me a sound mind.

You do not confine me to the limits of materialism or human reason.

You give me revelation into dimensions and purposes beyond my earth-bound comprehension.

You share invisible realities with poets, prophets and with all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

I don’t have to be special, or pretty, or smart or rich and famous or anything or anyone but me for you to like me. I can be ordinary and simple and hidden and You will smile at me and I can smile back at You.

You have never given up on me.

You are never nihilist but always purposeful in love.

You are never defeatist, instead You defeat the demons who would defeat us.

You are not small. You are big. Big. BIG!

You are never legalistic or judgmental.

You are like a good teacher or father who knows that learning and growing up is often a process.

You are patient with my mistakes.

You give me many chances and fresh starts.

With forgiveness, compassion, and merciful loving kindness, You deliver me from all guilt of all failures and all unjust judgments and help me to “sin no more.”

You do not tempt me to evil or to hurt others but motivate me to do good deeds.

You never ever compromise with evil or pander by saying “There. There” to my weaknesses.

With great mercy, love and forgiveness You call me to rise up to You, to press forward toward Your standards of wholeness and purpose, to reach for love far higher and better than my own.

You know I can never attain Your commands to love God and my neighbor in my own strength, so You give me a helping hand.

You help me day by day to humble myself; You show me my need. You give me Your Life
and Your Holy Spirit.

I will praise You because all this happens my ordinary life and ordinary days.

Your Holy Spirit fills me and raises me up, as if on eagles wings, to receive and give Your love, a love far greater than my own.

I will praise You because Your ways are always just and fair, even when it doesn’t look like it,  and Your Kingdom is just and fair.

I will praise You because Your Kingdom will come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

And I will praise You because You are with me always. I am never alone.