Psalms – Prayers of Honesty
Come and worship! Raise the roof with praise! Today’s prayer of praise for the God of reminds us of all God has done in our own lives. Lift the rafters with our hymns! Be grateful for all God is doing…even today. Drop everything else and just watch for Him at work! It’s not hard when we focus on Him. The more we praise God the more we see God’s hand in everything we are and do daily…and that causes us to praise him even more. This cycle of praise comes from grateful living knowing God is with us at all times, being alert to His actions and following Him where He leads. God owns our praise for all He has done! There is no one like our God!
The Psalmist knew it and leads the congregation in praise! What an excited worship leader, right?!
Psalm 95, The Message1-2 Come, let’s shout praises to God,
raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!
Let’s march into his presence singing praises,
lifting the rafters with our hymns!
3-5 And why? Because God is the best, High King over all the gods.
In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,
in the other hand grasps the high mountains.
He made Ocean—he owns it!
His hands sculpted Earth!
6-7 So come, let us worship: bow before him,
on your knees before God, who made us!
Oh yes, he’s our God,
and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.
7-11 Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks: “Don’t turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising,
As on the day of the Wilderness Test,
when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.
For forty years they watched me at work among them,
as over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked!
‘Can’t they keep their minds on God for five minutes?
Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’
Exasperated, I exploded,
‘They’ll never get where they’re headed,
never be able to sit down and rest.’”
GOING DEEPER…
Look at all the directive action words in this praise song:
“Come, shout, praise, raise the roof, march, sing, lift, worship, bow, on your knees, drop everything else, listen…”
IF we don’t, we will never get where we are intended by God to go.
Pretty simple, right? It’s not easy in this busy world full of people (all of us) with short attention spans, who are easily distracted while listening to everything around us at once. But the imperative still stands…Come and worship! Bow on your knees before God. March into His courts with singing. Raise the roof! Look and listen for God!God owns all He has done. God owns us. God owns and deserves ALL our praise.
“And why? Because God is the best, High King over all the gods.”
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all You have done in our lives. You gave us worth when we others thought we were hopeless. You saved us, dear Jesus, like no one else could. You brought us through trouble of our own making and created beauty from the ashes of our burned lives. You are still doing it! Yes, You are God, the One and Only and we are not. We praise you with all that is in us. We are watching for what you will do next! It is precious to be owned by You!
In Jesus Name, Amen
And I’m singing…a “mash up” of praise to God…
Come and worship
Come and worship
Worship Christ the newborn King!
Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah!
Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah!
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!
Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah!
The kingdom of this world is become
The kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ!
And he shall reign for ever and ever!
To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life our redemption to win,
And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice;
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.
To God be the Glory
Great things He has done
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 