What does it mean to praise the Lord?

from the old testament

• Every living being has the purpose of giving God praise: "Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! ... Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 150:2, 6).
• Praise is a genuine response to the singular goodness of God. He alone is worthy of all our worship (Psalm 148:13).
• Our actions (see Colossians 3:17), words (Psalm 35:28), and hearts (Psalm 86:12) should all bring praise to the Lord.
• Psalm 119:7 says: "I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules." Praise is not motivated by a hypocritical desire to look more "spiritual;" instead, true praise is motivated by seeing and experiencing God's goodness to us and others and by learning the ways of the Lord.
• The Psalms are filled with descriptions of how we can praise the Lord. With musical instruments (Psalm 150:3–5), with singing and dancing (Psalm 149:1–4), by raising our hands (Psalm 63:4), by bowing down (Psalm 95:6), and by exalting God communally in the fellowship of other believers (Psalm 34:3).
• We are to praise the Lord always: "I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1; see also Philippians 4:4).
• We can praise God even when difficulty befalls us. Psalm 42 shows us the back-and-forth struggle of the sacrifice of praise. The psalmist is in great agony because of his troubles and sorrows; He feels forsaken by God. Instead of turning away, he chooses to remember God's goodness to Him in the past. When he is able to praise God, he redirects his focus, and his perspective shifts: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" (Psalm 42:5–6a).

from the new testament

• Praise is verbal and expressive, flowing from gratitude and joy in Christ. Believers praise God through spoken and sung worship, thanksgiving, and proclamation of His greatness (Luke 2:13–14; Acts 16:25; Hebrews 13:15). Praise openly declares God’s character, saving work, and faithfulness, often in community with other believers.
• Believers praise God because they have been redeemed, forgiven, and given new life through Christ (Ephesians 1:3–14; Revelation 5:9–13).
• True praise goes beyond songs and words to include living in a way that honors God (Romans 12:1; Philippians 1:11). When believers bear fruit, do good works, and confess Christ with their lives, they glorify and praise the Lord.
• Christians are called to praise God in all circumstances, empowered by the Holy Spirit and grounded in hope, even amid suffering (Ephesians 5:18–20; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; 1 Peter 1:6–7). Praise is a sacrifice, but when we continue praising God in the midst of hardships, He reminds us of His goodness and faithfulness to us in the past. Praise becomes a constant posture of the heart, directing glory to God in every season of life.

implications for today

We bring praise to the Lord when we choose to glorify Him, thank Him, adore Him, honor Him, and obey Him. Why do we praise God? We praise God for who He is because He alone is God, and He alone is truly good, faithful, just, loving, righteous, and more. We also praise God for what He has done. We praise Him for His salvation, provision, protection, love, faithfulness, kindness, and goodness, to name a few.

What are some of the ways God has been good to us? The apostle Paul outlines some of them in Ephesians 1:

He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (verse 3)

He chose us to be holy and blameless (verse 4),

He adopted us as His own children (verse 5),

He redeemed us with His own blood for the forgiveness of our sins (verse 7),

He made the mystery of His will, His plan of redemption through Christ, known to us (verses 8–10),

He gave us an inheritance (verse 11), and

He sealed us with the Holy Spirit (verse 13).

There are so many ways we can praise the Lord. Living in obedience and righteousness brings God praise, but praise is not just about living right. Praise is something we act out in practice. It comes from a life surrendered to God, grateful for who He is and what He has done. It is something we must cultivate and practice. We can start by beginning our prayers with praise, thinking through at least five things we can praise God for before we ask for things.

Praise changes our perspective in our circumstances. We have to especially remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done in the moments when life feels darkest. When we offer the sacrifice of praise to God out of obedience, soon enough, we will start to believe it again as well. We do not deny our pain; rather, by praising the Lord, we choose to remember that He is there with us in the midst of it. Hoping in God and praising God go together: "But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more" (Psalm 71:14). We have the assurance of God's faithfulness. What God has done before, He can do again. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23). Our God is always worthy of all praise; praise the Lord!