Praise is more important than eating. If you don’t eat you will die, but if you don’t adore God you are spiritually dead. It’s important that you make a habit of public praise. Praise is your spiritual pulse, the life-blood of your soul.
Private piety is important and there are commands that can only be obeyed when we scatter into the world. We make much of these things—but there are some promises that can only be claimed when the body is gathered. This is an important function of the church. In the church I pastor we thoughtfully arrange opportunities for the people of God who assemble here to praise God together—corporately. We faithfully, regularly, and purposefully gather on the first day of the week to give public praise to our Lord Jesus Christ. He deserves it. It’s good for us. We can’t live spiritually without it.
It is dangerous to neglect praise. Calvin Miller put this in a creative way in an allegory about the fall of Satan. He wrote that Satan…
“…began his great insurrection by frowning and skipping his morning alleluias. It must have seemed minor at the time, but hell grows out of paradise gone sour. Joy is a discipline, and fallen angels were always those who grew negligent with their praise.” (Calvin Miller-The Valiant Papers).
Let’s not do that.
Remember that “…you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
* It’s really Blakely Drian, but Creek sounds nicer so I call it creek.
Thank you for this insightful post about the necessity of praise … corporate and private. We need one another and having the freedom to meet in a local church is a blessing many in this world don’t have.
Blessings to you & yours.
Pastor Pierpont,
My wife Rachel sent this to me via e-mail. I just read this after facing a spiritual stronghold. The message God gave you to share has given me great encouragement, reminding me that when we are praising God publicly that Satan is completely stripped of any power. He is a defeated foe that cannot touch us when we are giving praise to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your ministry. We pray that God continues to bless you and your family. I give praise to God for the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. Thank you.
yes, I agree….. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD…”
I have always had the motto and signed my letters and named my web site, “Singing His Praise” and now that it is getting harder for me to do that physically it breaks my heart but I still can praise Him in other ways and I intend to continue to do that.
Singing HIS Praise is the most important thing in my life and I pray that I will always be able to do that in my heart no matter what…
Singing His Praise
My song for 2010
“Something For Thee”
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.