One day, while listening to a sermon, I heard a statement that caught my attention. The man of God said, “an offering of praise.”
Just this past weekend one of our partners sent me a prayer request. She had many things going on in her life that were causing her distress. Therefore, she needed agreement in prayer. However, before I could even answer, she sent another email and said she had decided to use the ‘praise cure’, and instead of complaining and becoming distraught – she chose to praise God. The weight lifted as she did this, and she felt peace again. Praise is powerful. It is powerful as a cure for distress, and it is powerful as an offering to the Lord. The Bible, in teaching about different kinds of offerings, mentions a praise offering.
The phrase, an offering of praise, has stayed on my mind. I have meditated several times on the act of a praise offering. In this I mean, to give God an offering, not for something, not sowing a seed for a particular thing – but simply giving to Him to say “thank you for all you do for me, I give praise for YOU. I give praise for Jesus and the Holy Spirit with this offering.”
In the Word of God, various offerings must be given at different times of the year, but there was one different offering.
Exodus 35:29 says, All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.
As it says, whoever’s heart is moved can bring anything they want before the Lord, specifically for the work of the Lord. This week, as I heard this statement, my heart was moved to give an offering of praise to my God.
The Word of God says God will bless those who make such a pleasing sacrifice to Him because it is “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Num 15:3) out of a generous spirit and with no other motives.
My offering was given with a generous spirit and no other motive than to give God praise. Therefore, I hope it was a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
I love what David wrote in the Psalms, With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good” (Psalm 54:6), and later he prays to God, accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules. (Ps 119:108)
Psalm 119:108 in the Passion Translation says it this way; Lord, receive my grateful thanks and teach me more of how to please you.
I know we all sow seeds for different things, I do it myself all the time. But next time we give, may we give an offering of praise and thanksgiving to God.
Let’s offer up to Him an offering that will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord, out of a generous spirit and no other motive…only to praise Him for all He is in our life, for all He has already given us…for that my friend, is much.
Father, today, we give you praise. We thank You for all You are in our lives, for who we are in You. We praise you for Jesus and for the Holy Spirit. You are a good and awesome God, we give you praise.
