“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
David’s Psalms are filled with words of praise to the Lord, and in many of them he uses the phrase, “bless the Lord.”
During one of our weekly phone visits, my sister and I were discussing whether there was a difference between praising God and blessing God. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and I praise Him for that. But I have been asking the Lord this question, “Jesus, how do I bless you?.”
Praise means expressing approval, admiration, or commendation for someone or something. We praise our children when they accomplish something new. We praise our Pastor when He has delivered a message that touched us or helped us in some way. When the Lord is moving in a service, words of praise and worship fall easily from our lips. And I am sure that the Lord is pleased with that.
We have so much to praise the Lord for. When we think of His sacrifice on Calvary, taking our sins upon Himself, our hearts are filled with praise. Before we eat our meals, we take time to praise Him for supplying our needs. In times of sickness, we thank Him for His healing power. Throughout each day, we whisper words of praise for all that the Lord has done for us.
Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”
Bless means to make something holy. Jesus is holy, and there is nothing that we can do make Him more holy. Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
But is there more to praising the Lord than just using our words? Could it be that to really bless the Lord involves every part of our life? While praying about this over the last few days, I kept asking the Lord to show me how I could bless Him. Bear with me as I share with you some scriptures that show us ways in which we can truly bless the Lord.
Thought For Today: The Lord has blessed me abundantly; I want to praise and bless Him in everything I do.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
