Where True Praise Begins

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Where does true praise begin? Is there a certain point in our walk with God, where we can be confident that our praise and worship of God is being fruitful, and meaningful? Depending upon which body of believers you find yourself fellowshipping with, you might have a different picture painted for you of where true praise truly begins.

When reading through Psalm 119, we find that there is a place that all of us must go to, and continue in, in order to truly offer God praise that counts in heaven.

In fact, in Psalm 119:7, the psalmist says, “I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.”

Here we read that the Holy Spirit revealed to the Psalmist that the primary way for us to “praise” God is through having an upright heart (v.7a). This makes total sense when we look at Scripture, as God wants our hearts to be in a right place with Him long before we ever begin praising Him with our words (Hebrews 13:15), or with our service to Him (Hebrews 13:16). 

We know Jesus called the Pharisees out on this very thing in the gospels, when He said, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me..." (Mk 7:6-7). Jesus also tells us as His followers that in order to have our hearts right with God we also have to have our hearts right towards one another. He tells us that if we are not honoring God in our relationships with others then we have to attempt to reconcile with them before we continue worshipping the Lord (Matthew 5:23-24). 

So we see that Scripture reveals to us that it is a privilege for us to "praise" God. Not only is it is a privilege for us to praise God, but it is a privilege that comes with responsibility. If we are not responsible in having a right heart, and relationship towards God and others, God commands us to put the Praise Station of our heart on hold.

The Word of God tells us in Psalm 119:7 that the first step to true praise for God is through having an upright heart. He tells us that the way to develop and nurture an upright heart is through “learning God’s righteous judgments” through His Word (Psalm 119:7b), and then hiding His word in our heart (Psalm 119:9-11). This is how we purify our hearts and minds, and honor God with our lives.

In the next verse, the psalmist would make a public vow and commitment to the Lord to praise Him in this manner by saying, “I WILL KEEP Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!” (Ps. 119:8). He knew that a heart that is not committed to God's Word is a heart that will be separated from God, and in essence would cause him to feel forsaken. Though we know God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), when we are not spending time with Him each day, we will begin to feel incredibly distant from the Lord, as if we have been forsaken. Though it is our hearts that have moved far away from God when this happens, and not God forsaking us.That is why it is crucial for us to be seeking after God with our whole heart, day by day.

This is the type of heart that God is looking for in all of us. Not a perfect life, but an unwavering commitment to saturating our hearts and minds with the Word of God (Psalm 1:1-3), and then living it out in our lives (Psalm 119:133; 119:105) The Word of God is the only thing that can free us from sin (Ps. 119:9-11), and lead us to blessings (Ps. 119:1-2). And it is through our commitment to the Word of God, that frees us from sin (Psalm 119:11), and enables us to truly praise God with an upright heart. This is where TRUE PRAISE BEGINS.

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