I love Ladies Bible Class. For nearly a year, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching a class that encompasses women who have walked with God for many years, baby Christians and women who are seeking God. I love the class for the fellowship, the joy of studying the Bible, and because my “students” teach me things all the time.
For instance, recently I wanted to teach a lesson on the power of prayer. I pulled out some of my favorite Old Testament prayers for examples. I had them lined up: Nehemiah’s prayer when he wanted God to help gain the King’s favor to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem; Hezekiah’s prayer when he spread that blasphemous letter from Assyria in front of God and insisted that God uphold his good name; Daniel’s bold prayer with his Hebrew brothers that stopped the murder of the wise men and gave the King the answer he asked for. I had so many lovely lessons we could learn from these brave prayer warriors.
When we finished the lesson, I asked them, “What stands out to you about these prayers?” And they piped up, “Praise. All these prayers start with praise.” I was stunned by their point. Think about it. None of these men were sitting around with nothing better to do, watching a sunrise or contemplating a mountain range. Daniel was facing his executioner and Hezekiah an enemy army. This is the perfect opportunity to stop and praise God?
To praise God is to acknowledge who He is. This is quite a bit different from thanking Him.
Think about it this way: We praise our husband when we say, “You are so kindhearted. I love the way you listen so carefully to the kids in your Bible class.” We thank our husband when we say, “Hey, thank you so much for doing the dishes tonight.” Although doing the dishes was probably an expression of his kindheartedness, thanking him and praising him aren’t the same. Moreover we praise our husband to others, for example, “He is such an honest guy; I never have to worry if he’s telling me the truth.”
Think about it this way: We praise our husband when we say, “You are so kindhearted. I love the way you listen so carefully to the kids in your Bible class.” We thank our husband when we say, “Hey, thank you so much for doing the dishes tonight.” Although doing the dishes was probably an expression of his kindheartedness, thanking him and praising him aren’t the same. Moreover we praise our husband to others, for example, “He is such an honest guy; I never have to worry if he’s telling me the truth.”
It seems to me that thanks to God comes easier to our tongues than praise.
For example, finish this statement, “Thank you Lord for…” Easy right, “Thank you Lord for our food, for my family, for my health, for my good job…” Much of our thanksgiving is focused on the physical blessings that God has given us. Praise on the other hand acknowledges who God is-merciful, holy, mighty, just, powerful, creator, and king.
Maybe we struggle to praise God because we simply don’t know enough about him. Our thanksgiving is based on what we know intimately-our blessings. Praise is the plain expression of everything we know about God-our theology. Thus if we find our tongues stilled, it may be that we simply don’t know him well enough.
We also struggle to praise God the way we should, because we don’t understand what praise does.
It is the answer to the question: How do we transfer our faith to our children? says,
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4)
It’s the way that evangelism is done.
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. (Psalm 145:10-12)
It may also be that we struggle to praise God because we simply don’t know enough about him. Our thanksgiving is based on what we know intimately-our blessings. Praise is the plain expression of everything we know about God-our theology. Thus if we find our tongues stilled, it may be that we simply don’t know him well enough.
I left my Bible class in a bit of a fog. I headed straight to my Bible to learn more. I think that’s what we all need, to go to the Psalms and see what they praise the Lord for. That’s how we can oil our tongues and like the heroes of yesteryear be ready in the most desperate circumstances to praise the Lord. In fact, that’s what we’ll be working on Monday-so be sure and come back to read more!
Helene
Sounds like you have a group of wise women to spend some serious God-time with, and that is awesome. :) Prayer is praise! I love that. I especially like the prayers in Colssians and Ephesians as I think about prayer in His Word, of course the Psalms are right up there, as the anointing oil to lather our speech with. I really like how you put that.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Dawn
I loved the insight you shared that praise is acknowledging WHO God is. I never thought of it that way, but indeed, that is what we are doing!
ReplyDeleteWhen someone compliments what I've done, I always say "Praise God" because I want to redirect the focus from me to Him who made whatever it was the person is complimenting "in me" possible "through me".
What wonderful examples we have in the Bible of those who were facing incredible struggles or trials and started their prayers with praise. Thank you for sharing the insight that your Bible study shared in that regard. It really caused me to reflect and think, "Do I do that??"
Thanks for such an edifying post!
I try to structure my prayer like this:
ReplyDelete1. Humility
2. Praise
3. Intentions
I feel like this order helps me prioritize my life and put me in my place of humility and submission. If I go the other way around, I tend to talk a lot about what I want (not even need). But when I do it correctly, by the time I get to intentions, it's all about his will being done in my life.
Thanks for a great post! Enjoy your ladies bible studies!
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Lexie
http://www.thegenesisfeminist.com