Deacon Steve GrecoIt starts with the reality of the question, “What is praise?” For most of us, we think praise is being thankful. It is not! Being thankful is a byproduct of praise, but it is not praise.
Praise describes the “attributes of God,” acknowledging God for who He is: the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Prince of Peace, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Shield, our Protector, our Comforter, our Love, our Advocate, the God of Mercy, our Rock, our Creator, the Word made Flesh and on and on. Review the Catholic Litany of Praises.
The word Praise appears 550 times in Scripture.
Read chapter 150 of Psalms as a reflection of the importance of praise: Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath / give praise to the LORD.”
Everything? Everything! We give glory to God when we praise Him. Psalm 22 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people.
How important is praise? Everything coming out of our mouth should involve praise in some way.
Hebrews 13: 15-16 “Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise that is the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
How is this possible? We see the answer to this in the Old Testament Book of the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 43:21 “The people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.”
My brothers and sisters, we were created to praise God in everything we think, say and do. All of creation was created to praise God.
Romans 8:22 “All creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.”
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus was asked to stop His disciples from praising God. His answer:
Luke 19:40 “If they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”
We are told to pray without ceasing in Scripture, but I also believe we should praise without ceasing.
When we truly learn how to praise, everything changes. Our life will never be the same. We are told to give thanks in all circumstances in 1 Thessalonians, but I believe we should praise God in all circumstances for what He is doing in our lives. Dengue fever? Praise Him for what we receive as a result of the illness.
People can disagree, but I feel it is highly unlikely, even impossible, to be anxious, depressed, discouraged or any other negative emotion when we are praising God. Think of Peter walking on the water. Eyes on Jesus, he experiences great miracles. Eyes off Jesus, he sinks.
When we praise God, we are transformed into His image. We truly become His ambassadors. A byproduct of praising is receiving the peace of Christ. We grow in the love of Jesus until our lives become reflections of that love.
When trials and adversity come, we should kick praise into “high gear.” Make it the focus of our life, the core of our being.
Let’s reflect on the word “praise” to help us implement it in our lives.
The “P” stands for presence. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were in the presence of God. When they sinned, they hid and soon were banished from God’s presence. We seek the presence of God in everything we think, say, and do. Certainly, with the Mass and the sacraments, prayer and adoration, we experience God’s presence in a special way.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we praise the Father, “Hallowed be thy name.” When we praise God, we put ourselves in His presence.
How do we do that throughout the day? When we wake up, begin praising God for being the God of creation, our provider and our protector. Let praise fill our hearts and souls.
When we eat breakfast, praise Him for being the God who grants our needs according to His riches and glory. Attend the great sacrifice of praise—the Mass—to start the day in the right direction.
When you are driving to work or school, listen to praise music, and praise Him with all your heart. At stop signs or lights, praise Him for being His son or daughter.
During the day, use the opportunity to praise God before or during meetings, phone calls or conversations.
The “R” in praise stands for restoration. Do you have a relationship that needs to be restored? Begin praising God for that person, blessing them by your love and prayers.
Many of us had or have bosses who drive us crazy. Instead of asking God to change or remove them, begin praising God for giving you the exact boss you need for your spiritual growth!
This situation happened to me several times. Particular people in my career were huge problems. With them, whatever I did seemed to be wrong. When I began to praise God for them, not only did my attitude change, but the way I was treated dramatically changed. I sincerely praised God for them and wanted what was best for them. In every case, each of them became friends and major supporters of me and what I was doing.
Try this also with those closest to you, such as a spouse or child. At one point, I looked at my daughter and asked why she wasn’t respectful like other daughters. We had years of conflict.
When my attitude changed and God revealed to me that I had the exact daughter I needed for me and I for her, everything changed. I began to praise God for my daughter exactly the way she was. Wow! God blessed the relationship in a huge way! Trust God and try it with your heart! Praising God for people closest to you changes everything!
The “A” in praise stands for attitude. Think of about how you pray. Are most of your prayers petitions in which you want God to change something? I often joke that the number one prayer God hears is, “Lord, change my spouse.” The number two prayer is, “Lord, change my children.”
We think we know best, but when we realize we are not God, and we allow God to transform our attitudes, everything changes around us. We are joyful because we accept what God plans for us and our lives. We don’t harbor expectations that lead to disappointment. We embrace Romans 8:28, that all things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
An attitude of praise protects us against the evil one, gives us solid mental health and even will make a big difference with our physical wellbeing.
The “I” in praise stands for intercession. In Psalms, we read:
Psalm 100:4-5 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, / his courts with praise. / Give thanks to him, bless his name.”
Do you want miracle after miracle to happen in your life? Learn how to praise and expect miracles in the midst of adversity.
For many years, my parish had a team of 50-60 people affiliated with an organization called “Corazon” who went to the hills of Tijuana in Mexico to build small homes.
One particular year, I was leading the paint team and noticed we had run out of paint before we were to paint the interior of a home. We had been shorted paint supplies, and we used too much on the exterior. All that was left was the “goo” lining the side and bottom of the paint cans. The team members asked me what to do.
I began praising God for being the God of multiplication. I praised fervently. Then I asked them to fill it with water and prayed over the paint can, praising God.
There were seven people painting that day. All of them dipped their brushes into the can of “paint.” Wow! My eyes dilated when I saw that the color of the paint was the same as the exterior color.
I began to praise God even more. Then whatever was in the can ran out. They asked me, “What do we do now?” I, of course, praising God fervently, said, “Add water.”
Much to my amazement, the paint color for the remainder of the room was the same color. Praise God! Now and forever!
The “S” in praise stands for strength. When you feel like giving up, praise God. Scripture encourages us:
Nehemiah 8:10 “Rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!”
Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield.”
When we are discouraged, feeling like we want to give up, that is the time to praise even more.
What happened with the walls of Jericho? This city had never been defeated. Joshua 6 tells us the Israelites marched seven times around the city walls. On the seventh time, they praised God with shouts and instruments. What happened? The walls began to come down, and the city was defeated. Praising God brings miracles.
When Moses praised God in Exodus 17, the battle turned and they won. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to praise the holiness of God at the front of his army. They began to praise God for His mercy and goodness and won a great battle!
Some of you are reading this book and struggling with major challenges, spiritual, mental, relationship-related, financial or physical. No challenge is too big for God. Every challenge can be defeated when we learn how to praise Him in all things!
The “E” in praise stands for expect miracles. When we praise God, everything changes. It is then God’s grace is unleashed. I witnessed this one day at a conference I attended during which I stood at the podium in front of 7,000 people and called out healing of macular degeneration in three parts of the arena. The next day, three women reported being instantly healed! It was because of the praise and the mercy of Jesus!
When we praise God, we are in His presence. When we praise God, our relationships are restored. Try praising God in your prayer rather than reciting a nonstop petition. I often tell people to praise God when praying the rosary and see how it changes God’s grace. Intercede for others by praising God rather than just saying prayers of petition. Understand that praise is our strength at all times. Finally, after 40 years of ministry, I know that when we praise God and expect miracles, incredible things happen. Not necessarily when we expect them or how we expect them, but better than we can ever imagine.
It can feel counterintuitive to praise God in the midst of trials and adversity. Yet that is exactly what we are to do. Jesus, I Trust in You!
Michael Baglino
