"Praise Without Seeing The Answer"

"I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation." Psalm 118:21

When is the Psalmist offering praise to the Lord? After the Lord answered him? After he saw the manifestation of what he was praying for? After the answer was in his hands? That isn't what it says. He praised the Lord for hearing him.

Why is it that we don't think about praising the Lord until after we see the answer? The very fact that this wonderful God, the Creator of the universe, the One who is so great that there are not even words in our vocabulary to describe Him, the One who rules from heaven and all creation trembles at His voice, the One before whom every person will stand and give an account, that this awesome God would even allow us to come anywhere near Him much less make our request known to Him should give us plenty of reason to praise Him. Whether He ever answered any of my prayers or not, I have more than enough reason to praise Him all the days, and every day, of my life.

Why is it that when He doesn't answer our prayers in the way we wanted Him to, we don't praise Him? His praise should continually be in our mouths- and not only when we receive the things we desire for from Him. Is He not worthy of praise- period! Or is He only worthy of our praise after He gives us what we want?

If our praise is only based on His answer to our prayers, or because He gives us something, or because we see His hand moving in our lives, then we don't really understand what it means to give Him praise. Do I praise Him for the answer when I see it? Yes, I do. But do I praise Him when I don't see it? Yes, I do. Because with or without the answer-- He is still worthy to be praised because of Who He is.

Have a great day. Don't wait to praise Him only after He has answered your prayer.

For further reading:
Psalm 34:1; 113:1; 135:1; 147:1

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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