Why Should We Praise God?

You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 118:28–29)

Today’s big question: why should we praise God?

In the last devotional, we focused on what praising God means. Using the same passage, we now will examine why we should praise God. Scripture clearly expresses the importance of praising God, but if we do not understand the reason behind it, we lose our foundational basis for praising Him—praise without meaning is empty. We must be sure our foundation is the truth of God in every area, including praise.

Many people end up praising fallible human beings rather than God because they lack the truth. “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:25, ESV). For example, who should we put our faith in—the scientists whose opinions always change and have not always been there or God who never changes and has always been? The answer may seem obvious, but many would rather praise the creature instead of the Creator.

We must recognize that God is our Creator; He is our Lord, and as a result, we should praise Him:

Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:3–4).

Moreover, we should also praise God for His unending mercy. Salvation is from God, and He has given us many spiritual blessings. Our response should be one of praise and glory to God. After all, the Lord is good, and His mercy is everlasting.

Praising Him does not end here, however. As finite human beings, we can never truly give God all the praise he deserves. “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?” (Psalm 106:2). Of course, these are rhetorical questions, as the answer is most definitely “no one.”

Sadly, there are those who do not want to recognize God as their Creator, because they do not want to be accountable to Him. Instead, they worship His creation. As Christians, we should never compromise by exalting the creation over the Creator. We need to stand firm on the truth of God’s Word—our foundation for praising God.

Today’s big idea: the truth of God’s Word is our foundation for praising Him.

What to pray: ask God to help us to never compromise His Word and to give Him the praise that is due Him.