The Need to Praise & Worship

by: Carol Donaal

“That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” 

Praise is usually an act of declaring the wonderful works of God. It is when we appreciate Him of what He has done and thank Him of His goodness. It is also a time when we make an expression of admiration and glorify Him of His indescribable nature. Worship, on the other hand, is when we render a deep reverence and honor to Him. It can be in any form like raising our hands, bowing down, or lying prostrate before Him. What matters most is our heart that is in awe of Him. In churches, they are normally taken as one in singing songs to God.  
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Praise and worship, in its simplest form, can be done by a genuine act of thankfulness. When we get into a deep praise and worship, out of the overflow of our hearts, we are able to sing new songs because of the wonderful and awesome glory of our Creator. In deep admiration to Him as the object of our affection, we are able to lift our hands, shouting for joy, as we remember the goodness and faithfulness of God in our lives. As well, we willingly once again offer our lives as a pleasing sacrifice unto Him.

Praise and worship, taken as one, is also an avenue to experience the presence of God. It starts with an act of surrender and acknowledgment that we need Him which will help us succeed in all our undertakings. While in the act of praise and worship, with divine illumination, we are able to make a personal assessment of ourselves. It becomes a moment of reflection and evaluation of what we have done and who we are that leads us to a deep conviction and repentance from all our sins. As others say, we become the God we worship. We become holy and better person. Praise and worship, thus, brings change or transformation of lives.

In this joyous season of Christmas, it is best to celebrate His birth by praising and worshiping Him. When He was born, the angels sang “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest). We, too, should also do the same in this season of Christmas for there are a lot of reasons for us to exalt Him. We thank God of all that He has done this year 2022. We adore Him for His faithfulness. We are able to surpass the pandemic and remain alive to this day. We are still surviving notwithstanding the disasters and calamities that our nation has gone through. Our situation in the Philippines is still much better compared to the refugees of war though we may have been affected with price increase of commodities due to oil price hike. We should therefore praise and worship God and enjoin others to do the same.