The Wonder and Joy of Praising God

Posted byJim SimoneauPosted inUncategorized

Day 76:  Psalms 33:1-3

            Psalm 33:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

            Lord, there is a precious beauty to Your praise. As when You filled the tabernacle with Your presence, when You empowered Your people at Pentecost, when You made the joy of Your presence known in history, time and time again. C.S. Lewis reflected it in Prince Caspian when the wildness of Your presence caused Your people to rejoice before You. Jonathan Edwards spoke of the joy and fullness of Your presence. In my own life, Lord, there have been times when Your presence filled me and delighted me and helped me to know and delight in You. Life is about You, O Lord. It is about praising and delighting in serving You and obeying You because we were made for this. My heart, our hearts are fulfilled when we delight in You.

            Psalm 33:2 Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

            O Lord, You are filling our hearts with praise. When we consider the work of Your hands, the moon, and the stars, what is man that You should take thought of him. But you have made him a little lower than the angels. Lord, when I meditate on You and the splendor of Your creation, the wonder of the breadth of all you have made, from the highest heavens to the depths of the sea, from the stars too numerous to count, the sands on the shores of all the oceans, the molecules, atoms and even smaller particles I am overwhelmed. The vastness of space and the galaxies and the wonder of the earth and its various details of creation overwhelm me. Lord, You are the awesome Creator God, sustainer God, provider, director Master and Lord overall. But in the vastness of this universe, You have taken notice of man, a most insignificant and rebellious creature by so many standards, but You have made Him and cherished Him and You call Him Your own.

            Not only do You create, notice and in general provide for this stubborn and rebellious creature, You also show him (or them) Your ongoing mercy and compassion. There is no love like Your love, O Lord. It is higher than the highest heavens, but it reaches also the lowest graves and raises the dead to life. This love has reached to me, O Lord, again and again. How can I help but to praise You, my King and my God! Help me bring You my very finest worship and praise. Help me and all Your people make melody to You and to use whatever instruments that You provide. Help each new generation and each new child of God sing the song of creation and the song of redemption as a new song that tells the old, old story of Jesus and His love. Help us bring You our best and purest worship and praise. Help us work to perfect it.

Published by Jim Simoneau

Jesus Christ brought me to Himself at a very early age. I began seeking the Lord and writing prayer journals in my early teens and have continued to grow in my knowledge and experience of prayer. I am still learning and growing in my prayer life and long to help others grow in their prayer lives as well. I am not an expert, but a practitioner who needs God to continue to teach me to pray. Prayer is both simple, yet also profound. It is deep and draws us into the depth of God, but it is also so easy and wondrous that we can cry out to God with "Abba, Father" prayers because of the work of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. Prayer comes from God's heart, works in our hearts, and teaches us to go back to seek God's heart!

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