Praise With One Another

One of my cousins and me at Cracker Barrel

“I will extol the Lord at all times;

His praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord;

Let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

Let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:1-3



God deserves our highest praise. We can praise him for the tiniest thing in our lives. For some of us, we can praise Him for the ability to get out of bed in the morning. I praise God whenever I can hold a small child.

Sometimes our praise is about the work God is doing although we can’t see it yet. Yes, we can give thanks for work He is yet to do.

In conversation with friends, we can praise the Lord with them when God blesses them. When we realize He has bestowed a gift upon us, we can share that kindness to others and give praise with our friends.

When we take the time to praise God, we magnify what the Lord has done for His children. Those who are ill or spiritually impoverished will hear and learn of His goodness. Then, they will join us in rejoicing.

Let us all honor God by raising Him up before our nations as one people-His people.

We Praise Him

“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

O Lord our God, as for all this abundance you have provided for

building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand

and all of it belongs to you.”

1 Chronicles 29:13, 16 (NIV)



King David prayed to God, giving thanks for what He gave to build the Temple. He led those in attendance in praising God for His abundantly providing the needed supplies and furnishings for the edifice for worshipping Him. He verbalizes that all the things the people have given have come from God.

In my living room sits a wooden bookcase with doors. Our brother-in-law told me I could have it when he found out we planned to move into our home. When hubby refinished it, he chose to put Plexiglas instead of glass like it had originally. He didn’t want our son to fall into it and get hurt. I don’t believe anyone would know the ‘glass’ was a man-made product. As I wrote this, I realized that glass, while being fashioned by man, has natural elements from the earth in its makeup. I’m not sure of the ingredients in Plexiglas but, I believe, there could be some natural ingredients in it.

When we start up our computers, do we think of the elements of nature that man has harnessed in order for us to use our modern wonders?

Do we praise Him for the knowledge He has given our doctors and nurses, our pastors, our missionaries?

Can we think of anything in our lives that doesn’t ultimately come from God? Please think on this question for a minute or two before you answer.

Praise in Tough Times

Do we have times when we find we have to praise God although the times are tough? I received a phone call from my friend who lives in Virginia; she has lost a nephew to Cancer. She also has a brother who, depending on the state of his lungs, may be having open heart surgery this week.



“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there be no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV)



Habakkuk prayed that he would rejoice in the Lord under the most devastating times. How many of us could pray that prayer? I know my friend would have a hard time with it.

Could we imagine what our land would look like if we had no fruit trees budding? In the Midwest we would have no cherries, apples, or peaches.

My husband grew up in a farming community. What would it look like if the soy beans, wheat, and corn didn’t germinate? I believe it would look pretty bleak-for the farmers and for the consumers.

We know some young people who have raised sheep as a part of their 4H projects. Every year the county fair has an auction of the animals the youth have tended. But what if there were no animals- sheep, cows, swine or chickens?

Habakkuk painted a bleak forlorn picture of Judah. His thinking is that if all the things deemed vital to their well being no longer existed, he would still feel bound to give thanks to God.

Under those circumstances what would Habakkuk, or even we, find in our lives under for which we could praise God?

1.) God is present with us in such difficult times.

2.) He will guide us through travails such as drought and loss of income.

3.) He will fellowship with us as we pray to Him.

4.) Our Lord will encourage us as we worship Him.



Dear God:

Please allow us to praise You whatever our circumstances in life. We ask You to accept our thanks for Your presence as we go through tough times. Please show us how to continue to praise You in the hard times. We will give You thanks for everything You have done for us. In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN.

Praise When It’s Hard

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and

singing hymns to God, and other prisoners were listening to them.”

Acts 16:25 (NIV)



Can you imagine two men, confined to stocks, sitting around praying to God and singing hymns? This is an anomaly of human behavior. We gripe about having to wait in line at the ATM. We carry on about the restaurant with the golden arches not having our order filled fast enough. We grouse about having our plans changed in order to suit some else’s schedule.

These two men were in prison because Paul had used the power of God to have a demon leave a slave girl. The girl’s employers didn’t like the lost revenue. They stirred up the crowd. The people fought with him and Silas. The magistrates had them beaten- even flogged. And they could still praise God?

The book of Acts was written about AD 66 or 68. We live in a different world, twenty centuries later. In our civilized world, we don’t hear of floggings very often. Some of our people shed tears when they get a minor cut.

Who do you think was the orchestrator of this praise fest? I believe it was God. Yes, Paul and Silas were the ones visibly singing and praying. God was there also, first to tell the duo to pray and sing and then to receive the praise from them.

The jailer saw the aftermath and was going to take his own life. Paul told him it wasn’t necessary because all the prisoners were still there. The jailer and his entire household became saved because of Paul and Silas’ praising in unusual circumstances.

Don’t you think we should try giving prayers and praise in the hard times as well as well as when it’s easy?

Announcement, Annnouncement

Can we have a blast of the Shofar? Or a drum roll? How about a bit of excitement. 'Cause I have an announcement to make.

I have been accepted as a weekly columnist on a website called

"Live as if" http://www.liveasif.org/

I am going to write under my real name, Cecelia Lester. I named my column "God's Words For Us." I plan on publishing new articles on Fridays.

Praise Should Be Joyous

“Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

Praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his act of power;

Praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

Praise him with the harp and lyre,

Praise him with tambourine and dancing,

Praise him with the strings and flute,

Praise him with the clash of cymbals,

Praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 150 (NIV)



Praise should be joyful. In the closing chapter of Psalm we read of places we should praise God-in the sanctuary. The writer tells us why we need to do this-His surpassing greatness. He also instructs us how we can give God His glory- with several musical instruments.



In the mid 1970s I returned to work. My place of employment was at a now closed Army base. At different times while I worked there, the Army band would set up in the lower hall of our building and go through a small program. I remember when I worked on the third floor of the building, hearing the sound waft through the air, enticing us to use our break time to come listen. The music filled the area and cheered up those who listened.

Praise fills the sanctuary in God’s house. It allows those who hear the praises to join with those who share their warm news.

God doesn’t limit who can praise Him. The closing verse of this book tells us we all have the capacity to praise our Father.

If we don’t feel we have anything to praise God for, just look around and see what He has given us. Has He done something for a friend or a neighbor? Has He blessed you with special news? Has he opened your eyes to new understanding of His Word?

Praise His Holiness

“Let them praise your great and awesome name- he is holy.”

Psalm 99:3 (NIV)



I recently watched a movie that was popular in our past. For the purposes of this entry, it shall be nameless. I have closed captioning on my television. As I watched and listened I found the language to be salty. Some of the words were vulgar. One particular term was only used in part but the innuendo was there. One of the characters took God’s name in vain or swore every other sentence.

I had seen this movie back when it was in the theaters in the late 1970’s. In a movie house, I might not have caught the words. I also saw it several times as our son grew up, minus the close captioning.

When did our society give approval of misusing the Lord’s name? Why do we Christians accept it?

Our drama ministry had a skit about our relegating His name to swear words. One of our drama people had written a skit set in a restaurant about the words people-Christians-use in public. The leader of our group asked me to expand on the topic and depict several areas of life where we fall short in this department.

Our pastor had earlier voiced concern about the subject and suggested we dramatize it. When I thought I was finished with the script, I made an appointment and took it to him. He had one change. He wanted a character to actually say the Lord’s name in an expressive, yet offensive way.

I actually thought about stating a disclaimer about the dialogue. In a recent drama meeting, one of the women said, because of that play, she stopped saying one of her pet exclamations.

What would it take for our society to return to praising God’s name instead of cursing with it? Or is it too late?