Praise Goes First

At church, Pastor Jon has been teaching us that Judah goes first. In Hebrew, the name Judah means, "praise," "thanksgiving," or "let God be praised." Now this should be a standard practice in the life of a Christ follower. Not because everything is always good and not because we always understand. But because God is worthy before the answer arrives.

Praise before the breakthrough - We often treat praise like the celebration at the end;

~ God answered > now I will praise Him.

~ The diagnosis changed > now I will praise Him.

~ The relationship was restored > now I will praise Him.

~ The door opened > now I will praise Him.

But Scripture repeatedly shows people praising before they knew how the story would end. That is a radically different kind of worship. It is saying, "I don't know what You're going to do, but I know Who You are."

Praise before the prayer is answered - There is something powerful about praying "God, I am asking You for this," but following it up with "but before I see what You do, I want You to know that I trust You." We do not praise God as a way of manipulating Him into giving us what we want. Praise is not spiritual bribery. We praise because His goodness isn't dependent upon whether He gives us the answer we requested. We would do well to remember that.

Praise when life isn't praiseworthy - Now praise does not man pretending that pain doesn't exist. The Psalms are full of moments of the writer essentially saying, "God, this hurts. I don't understand this. Where are You?" And then they turn their eyes back toward Him. Biblical praise is not denial. It is direction;

~ I'm hurting, but I'm looking toward God.

~ I'm afraid, but I'm looking toward God.

~ I'm disappointed, but I'm looking toward God.

~ I don't understand, but I'm looking toward God.

Praise changes our posture before it changes our circumstances - we should want to know how God wants to change us in a season before we wonder when He will change the season. I am unsure if you have ever noticed how your posture changes, but for me it has looked something like this... I enter prayer carrying anxiety. I begin worship carrying fear. I start to thank God while my circumstances are still unresolved. Then somewhere along the way, my shoulders drop and my perspective shifts. The mountain is still there, but I am no longer staring at the mountain. I am looking at the One who stands above it.

Jehoshaphat: sending praise into battle first - 2 Chronicles 20, Judah is facing an overwhelming enemy. But instead of putting the musicians at the back of the army, Jehoshaphat sends worshippers ahead. Praise went first. They didn't wait until the battle was over to worship. They worshipped while the enemy was still approaching. Praise is not always a response to the battle being won. Sometimes praise is how we remind ourselves that God is still God while the battle is raging.

Paul and Silas: praise in the prison - Acts 16 shows another picture of this. They are beaten, imprisoned, chained. And at midnight, they pray and sing hymns. Not after the prison doors are opened. Before. That was the kind or praise that didn't depend on circumstances. They did not have evidence that their situation was about to change, yet they worshipped anyway. That is when the earthquake came. But their worship wasn't conditional upon the earthquake. They praised before the miracle.

Jericho: obedience and praise before the walls fell - Joshua and Israel marched around Jericho. The walls had not fallen yet, they had no visible evidence that anything was happening, they just simply obeyed. Eventually, they shouted, and the walls fell. But notice there was silence prior to the shout. Sometimes God asks us to walk around something that hasn't yet changed, and perhaps part of faith is learning how to praise while we're still walking. 

"I praise You because You are good" vs "I praise You because things are good" - these are two completely different types of praise. "I praise because things are good" means that my worship is attached to circumstances. "I praise You because You are good" means my worship is attached to God's character, and that is how it was always meant to be. Things change, God does not. My circumstances can shift, God's faithfulness doesn't. People can leave, God never will. Doors can close, God remains sovereign. And that is why praise can go first.

Praise is not payment for blessings - we do NOT praise God so He'll give us more. We do NOT worship so that He will owe us something. God is not a vending machines and praise is not transactional. It is a relationship and recognizing God for Who He is.

Praise can be a weapon - not in a mystical "say the right words and force something to happen" way. But praise can absolutely be a weapon against:

- despair

- fear

- hopelessness

- bitterness

- self-reliance

- anxiety

- temptation

When everything around us is screaming that God isn't here, praise allows us to answer, "But I know He is."

Jesus is the ultimate reason praise goes first - Christian praise is not based merely on what God might do for us. It is based on what God has already done through Christ. There is already salvation, grace, the cross, the fact that Jesus gave Himself for us. Therefore, we do not have to wait for another reason to praise. We already have one.

The danger of only praising after the victory - if we only praise when God does what we want, we're not really practicing unconditional worship. We're practicing conditional gratitude. Now that is not to say that there is something wrong with celebrating God'd blessings, because we absolutely should. But our praise should not disappear when the blessing does. Job gives the greatest example of this. His circumstances changed dramatically for the worse, but his relationship with God wasn't supposed to be based on what God could give him, and it wasn't.

So praise in the waiting. Praise when God says "no." Praise as remembrance for what He has already done. Praise before an answer has been given. Praise before walking into that doctor's office. Praise before looking at your bank account. Praise before the door opens. Praise before the walls fall. Praise before the miracle. Praise, not because we know what God is going to do, but because we know Who God is.

Praise goes first because God goes first - our praise goes first, but ultimately God went first;

~ He loved first.

~ He pursued first.

~ He extended grace first.

~ He made a way first.

~ He sent Jesus first.

Our praise is a response to something God has already initiated, and it is the ONE thing we can give back to God that He Himself has not given us. That is such an honor.

Maybe praise was never meant to be the period at the end of the testimony. Maybe it was meant to be the first sentence of our faith.