What is sacrificial praise?

It is very easy to praise God through the good times. However, how easy it is to praise God when times are bad? You may have just lost your job, have a child who is wayward, or gotten a doctor’s report that is not good, or you may be waiting on a break-through where it seems God has forgotten your prayers. Conversely, how can you keep on praising God through your bad times? This is what it is called – sacrificial praise. Accordingly, the scripture says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).  You still have a praise, although you are facing the worst times of your life. Accordingly, this is the best praise that you can give God.

God is the same today, as He is yesterday, and He will be the same forever. Therefore, if He is good at the time when you got married, He is still good at the time when you got divorced. You will have to understand that God is a restorer. If He is good at the time when you had the baby, He is still good when your child became wayward. He is a deliverer. If He is still good when you have health, He is still good through your sickness. He is a healer.

When you praise God through your pain, anything can happen. Paul and Silas were in jail, but they did not let their situation deter them from praising God. They began to praise God through their pain. When God saw their sacrifice of praise, He gave them their break-through. The scripture says, “ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26).

It doesn’t matter whether your day is going good or bad. It is the day that the Lord has made. You should still rejoice and be glad in it (Psalms 118:24).

God is the same whether you find yourself up on the mountain, or whether you find yourself in the valley. The same God who you praise when things go right on the mountain, is the same God you still praise when things go wrong in the valley. He will make things right when they go wrong. However, you still need to continue to praise Him through the pain, despite your situation. When God sees your sacrifice of praise, He will deliver your break-through.

Listen to this inspirational song: Lynda Randle – God on the Mountain