Can you recall a moment that made such an impression on you, it changed your perspective on something?  I had such a moment, and this I won’t soon forget.

I was in college, doing a few days of team ministry at a tiny, remote, Baptist church.  After service one evening, a few of us rode off, shoulder-to-shoulder, in a little pickup truck.

As we drove a country road through the dark of the night, we began to sing acapella, praising the Lord.

To my left I could hear some pitchy praise; one friend whose notes were quite out of tune.  But the vigor in which they were sung was what caught me.

He sang with reckless abandon, pouring out his adoration so unabashedly that I hit pause for a few seconds just to take it all in.

Some would say the melody wasn’t beautiful.  Oh… but it WAS… to the one for whom it was intended. 

And it didn’t matter what it sounded like to me, because it wasn’t meant for me.

I had the sudden realization that this was, to God, a powerful, reverent moment. 

That the beauty of it wasn’t in the sound being spilled forth, but in the gift being given.  And that I was seeing the true heart of worship at its best.

Here before me was a pouring out to the Father in earnest adoration, with no concern as to how it sounded to anyone but God himself.

I felt privileged to be a part of it. 

But even more so, it changed the way I viewed the power of personal worship, and what that gift means to the heart of God.

This just the kind of worship he desires from all of us.

The kind written of in Psalm 92:4 – 

You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.

Whether you can sing beautifully matters not.  It’s what you carry in your heart that gets God’s attention. 

Our Heavenly Father wants nothing less than a pouring out of our hearts to him like my friend did that night.  

This is a desire out of the goodness of God.

Because when we worship earnestly, not only do we honor our mighty God, something changes within us.

Let me tell you why I know that.

I often end my blogposts with a He Says paragraph – something God spoke to me directly in my daily prayer journal.  But this time He Says is appearing smack dab in the middle of my post. 

Because what he had to say to me about praise is better than anything I could say to you.

These were God’s words to me about why he wants us to praise:

• Child, when you adore me with your song and seek me without ceasing, I am able to lift you above any circumstance.
• You won’t find joy like mine anywhere else.
• To praise me brings your heart solace. It settles anxiety, restores the broken, rejuvenates lost hope, builds you up for battle.
• It draws you close to me, reminds you that, ultimately, I am in control, takes your focus off of you, and centers it on me. 
• Praise me with all of you, holding nothing back, and watch what I am able to do within you.
• When you lift up praise as a gift for me from a willing heart, it yields a mighty return.
• Because as you praise, I fill you more.  
• The pouring out is also the filling up. You will see this nowhere else.

Offering praise is an outward act, fueled by our devotion, given through our love, deepened through our commitment, and offered in humility.

And the returns it yields cannot be replicated by anything this world has to offer.

As we pour out, we are simultaneously filled up.  We will find this nowhere else.

So don’t let your mind hold your heart back.   

You were made to praise.

Brandon Lake sings a beautiful song about praise.  He calls it, “Gratitude”. 

I’d love for you to find a quiet place and spend a few minutes to let his words sink in.    

I invite you to watch this video, and worship with me. 

Gratitude – Brandon Lake – Lyric Video – Bing video