Sacrifice of Praise

February 3, 2025

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

Driving home from work, my thoughts went to all the work God has done in my life these past few years. I focused on spiritual battles that I lost, but God won for me. I thought of the moments going into the first battle, the covenant I had made to keep praising God. I focused on my losses in my strength; the scars in my memories. I remembered the desperation to hear God's voice, his direction. I thought of those moments when God nudged me when I felt the "... hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me ... and set me down in the midst of the valley..." (Ezekiel 37:1).

I then recalled God showing me all my prayers in this valley in October 2023. He showed me that first prayer in December 2021, making a covenant with God when I started planning this Psalm 100:4 journey. Looking back, I can see that Satan had started his plans that very day; that very moment in my life. Satan had started attacking my "Achilles' heel." Then the day I publicly launched this journey, there was Satan with his first hit in this war, and it was a direct hit to my heart. I was on my knees pleading with God; not this. But I heard, "Will you still praise God?" At the beginning of this war, my answer was a stronger yes than it was near the end.

After recalling those battles, I remembered how personal God was in His responses. How God knew my thoughts, my prayers, my heart. How the God that created everything knew me and heard me. How small my voice would be in all of His creation. I have been well aware of all of this since the battlefields were cleared without me doing anything. Well aware of God blessing me with spiritual blessings on the battlefield, the "spoils of the war." How God is still preparing a table in front of my enemies, showing them the battle is already won on this spiritual battlefield.

As I thought on, I stumbled across this verse in the Bible, "...sacrifice of praise to God continually...". I don't recall ever hearing praise referred to this way. I feel God has shown me a whole new meaning this past year of what it means to praise God. My thoughts of praise were praising God for his work in my life, and giving thanks for all the blessings he has already given me; this is a type of praise. I still thought in words of praise though. It is as if I was in Isaiah 29:13, where "... the Lord said ... this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me..."

God was still showing me another type of praise. After these trials passed, I saw a type of praise can be with your actions. More of a "salt of the earth"; others may see me going through painful things but hopefully they also saw me turning to God. My understanding of praise had grown from letting God know he was doing a good job, to praising God through my life. Up until today, I had never noticed this scripture "sacrifice of praise", nor even thought of praise in this way.

Thank you God, for directing my paths on this spiritual journey, that has forever changed me. I have seen the sights of thy glory along the way, and am very thankful that you were with me on my "road to Emmaus". I am thankful for all the physical blessings in this life that thou has given me along this journey.

For further study:

Acts 16:23-25 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Psalm 51:16-17 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.