Praise

So, this is not really wedding-related, but it is something we wanted to share with you all.

Over these past few months, Matt and I have both been contemplating the motivation behind praise of God.

Here is what we've been struggling with:
Do we praise Him for who He is? or Do we praise Him for all the good and nice things He does for us?

Our personal conversation and questions were brought to life these past few weeks through a song we've been singing at church. The song, entitled Desert Song, was written by the musicians at Hillsong.

Below is a video of the song and a short testimony from Jill McCloghry, one of the Hillsong singers. We hope this blesses you today.

Check out this video:


The bottom line that we've discovered is that we should praise God for both who He is and for what He does for us. Very often, though, we only praise him for what he does for us, because that is easy for us to grasp. We see the beauty of creation and we see that He has lavished blessing on us.

However, praising God for blessing us isn't enough. We should also praise God because He is holy, righteous, gracious, merciful, compassionate, etc. No matter what He does or doesn't do for us, He is worthy of our praise.

Lyrics to Desert Song:

This is my prayer in the desert,
When all that's within me feels dry,
This is my prayer in my hunger and need,
My God is the God who provides,

And this is my prayer in the fire,
In weakness, or trial, or pain,
There is a faith proved more worth than gold,
So refine me Lord through the flame,

I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

This is my prayer in the battle,
When triumph is still on its way,
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ,
So firm on his promise I'll stand,

I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

All of my life, in every season,
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing,
I have a reason to worship,

I will bring praise,
I will bring praise,
No weapon formed against me shall remain,
I will rejoice, I will declare,
God is my victory and He is here,

And this is my prayer in the harvest,
When favour and providence flow,
I know I'm filled to be emptied again,
The seed I receive I will sow

Psalm 104
"1 Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent....

33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD."

Deuteronomy 7:9 (from The Message)

Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations.

Praise Him!

Love you guys