Have you ever wondered why it’s so important to praise God? Why does the Bible have so many scriptures about praise? Or which scriptures say, “Praise the Lord!”? Join us as we look to the Bible to discover what it says about praise and worship and how you can incorporate praise scriptures into your everyday faith.
Benefits of Praising God
Throughout the Bible, there are several scriptures about praise. We discover the Lord’s attributes in the Psalms, we praise God for the miraculous acts He did in Exodus, and we hear glimmers of what praise is like around God’s throne room in the book of Revelation. Praise scriptures seem to be just about everywhere in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, there are Bible verses on praise, songs of praise, and praise scriptures that we still sing today.
So, while we know that God is worthy of all praise, have you ever wondered what praise does to us?
- Humans Were Created To Worship: Have you heard the phrase, “It’s not if you’ll worship, it’s who you’ll worship”? Regardless of what you choose, humans were created to worship. Because God is so gracious, He gave us free will to choose what we will praise.
If you make the choice to praise something or someone other than God, you’ll find that there aren’t many benefits to making that choice. However, the benefits of praising Jesus, the living God, are many.
When you choose to worship Jesus instead of other gods, the Bible tells us that you receive the mind of Christ and have access to a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When you choose to praise Jesus, the Bible tells us that you can put off your heaviness and receive a garment of praise! (Isaiah 61:3) It is for your benefit to praise Jesus, the living God, and pursue Him all of your days.
Learn more about how to connect with God in praise, worship, and Bible reading: The Art of Connecting with God on YouTube - Freedom & Deliverance Come Through Praise: Scriptures on praise show us something amazing: when we pray, praise, and worship God, strongholds crumble, and chains break. There are several moments of praise recorded in the Bible that brought moments of wild breakthrough. Stories in the Bible that highlight scriptures on praise include the walls of Jericho falling (Joshua 6:15-20) and a choir that was appointed to sing before an army to ensure victory (2 Chronicles 20:18-22).
Related Post: What Does the Bible Say About Your Words? - Praise Strengthens Your Faith: Bible verses on praise show us over and over again that worshipping God and praising Him often strengthens our faith in Jesus and gives us spiritual endurance. Ephesians 6 talks about how there is a war in the spiritual realm, and one of our greatest weapons against evil is praising God.
- Praise Invites God to Move: In the Psalms, it says that we enter God’s courts with thanksgiving and praise. As we do so, God hears our voice, our praises, and our prayers, and then He starts to move! Sometimes God moves in mysterious ways, like when He led His people with a cloud by day and a fire by night (Exodus 14:24). Other times, after praise and worship, God would give direction to His people and provide clarity on what steps to take or which decision to make (Acts 1:1-5). And one of the most interesting Bible verses about praise comes from 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, where God appears inside the place where people were worshipping with a cloud of glory. God moves in powerful ways as a response to our praise!
- Praise Lifts Heaviness: Scriptures about praise often talk about how heaviness, depression, and anxiety are lifted as we fix our focus on God, rather than on ourselves. Jesus promises His followers that He has a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. When we choose to praise Jesus and surrender to Him, heaviness, overwhelm, and anxiety tend to flee. Bible verses about praise were often written by people in the Bible going through incredible difficulty, trauma, spiritual warfare, and conflict. However, the Psalmist, David, wrote scriptures on praise that show what it’s like to choose gratitude and worship to God, rather than being overwhelmed by circumstances.
You can have freedom from heaviness, anxiety, and depression: 21 Bible Verses for Anxiety and Worry - Praise Shifts Our Perspective: Bible verses about praise glorify God and magnify His name, but scriptures on praise also carry the power to shift our perspective about life, family, work, and church. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the things of this world: the bills to pay, the schedule to manage, the work projects, the diapers to change, the state of the world, and so on and so forth. However, Bible verses on praise invite us to worship God anyway, and in doing so, we become more aware of how we can partner with God as people who pray.
Discover more about intercession and how to change the world through prayer: What Is Intercessory Prayer in the Bible?
How to Praise in Difficult Seasons
Bible verses about praise and praise scripture have the power to shift our perspective, lift heaviness, and invite God to move in our lives and the world, but how are you supposed to praise in difficult seasons? Whether you’re facing a job loss, financial hardship, a crushing diagnosis, or relational difficulties, giving praise to God can be exactly what you need to move forward. In Psalm 42, we read a scripture about praise that has encouraged people for generations:
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
– Psalm 42:11
Psalm 42 is a scripture about praising God even in the middle of difficult seasons. The sons of Korah were the authors of Psalm 42, and they were a group of musicians and singers who praised God every morning and evening before the Lord (1 Chronicles 23:30-31). During struggles and difficulties, the sons of Korah wrote this Bible verse of praise and continued to give God praise despite adversity.
No matter what you’re going through, Bible verses about praise and scriptures about praising God are good for your soul and your mind. Even though it may feel backwards to praise God when things aren’t going well, Bible verses about praise show us that praising God in every season has the power to change our circumstances for the better. And remember, even if you don’t see the mountain move right away, keep praising God.
The Bible assures us that God works everything together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, causing what the enemy meant for evil to be turned around for your good (Romans 8:28, Genesis 50:20-22).
See how God took betrayal, slavery, and accusation and turned it for Joseph’s good in the Bible: What Is the Story of Joseph in the Bible?
Bible Verses About Praise
Now that you know the benefits of praising God and why it’s essential to praise God in difficult seasons, it’s time to discover Bible verses about praise and scriptures about praising God to boost your faith, fill you with hope, and encourage you.
Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
– Psalm 150:1-6
Psalm 150 is a key scripture about praising God. This psalm of praise lays out the way that different instruments are called to praise Him. Praise scriptures like Psalm 150 also provide reasons as to why God is worth praising. This Bible verse about praise tells us that God has surpassing greatness and acts of power that demand praise, not just from us as humans, but from everything that has breath which He created. All the earth is called to praise the living God!
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Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
– Psalm 100:4-5
This praise scripture from Psalm 100 instructs us to enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. While singing praise scriptures, enjoying corporate worship, or setting aside times for musical devotion are great ways to honor God, gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to praise God with or without music.
Discover more about the power of thanksgiving: 21 Bible Verses on Gratitude
I will exalt you, my God, the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.
– Psalm 145:1-2
Praise scriptures in the Bible usually mention God being exalted forever and ever. This praise scripture from Psalm 145 has eternity as a focus. David, the author of this Bible verse about praise, mentions that he will not just praise God every day, but he will praise God forever and ever. When we get to heaven, we will still be praising. When we get to see Jesus face to face, we will have all the more reason to give praise and honor to Him. Praise scriptures in the Bible remind us that praise isn’t just for this earth, but it’s also something we’ll be doing for eternity.
Do you know where you’ll go when you die? Discover how to receive Jesus as Lord and have confidence in going to heaven: This Is For You
Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
– Psalm 146:1-2
Scriptures about praise in the Bible often mention singing to God. Singing to God is a form of praise that most of us are familiar with. This praise scripture from Psalm 146 also points to praising God in every season. When times are good and when times are bad, Bible verses about praise invite us to praise God no matter what.
Related Post: How to Trust God When Life Isn’t Going Well
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
– Psalm 69:30
Scriptures on praise in the Bible talk about worshiping God through song. Even if you don’t feel like a good singer, singing Bible verses about praising God is a great way to grow your faith and glorify God. Reading Bible verses about praise, speaking praise scriptures, and praying scriptures about praise are great ways to worship God…but there is something special about making your own melody to God with the ancient words of praise scriptures.
Discover more about how to deepen your relationship with God through meditating on praise scriptures in the Bible: What is Christian Meditation?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
– 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise scriptures often show us attributes of God’s character that we tend to forget about. This scripture about praise in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 shows us that God is worthy of praise because He is the father of compassion and comfort. This Bible verse about praise shows us that God is a comforter who comforts us in all of our troubles. Just reading this Bible verse on praise can cause you to pause and praise God. Thank you, Father, that you have provided comfort and compassion to us in all our troubles!
Related Post: What Does the Bible Say About God as a Father?
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
– Hebrews 13:15
Praise scriptures like Hebrews 13:15 show us that our praise is to be continual. Even when praising God feels like a sacrifice, and even if praising God feels inconvenient, it’s important to keep Jesus’ name and praise scriptures in our prayer lives, as often as we can.
Not sure where to start with prayer? Download our FREE e-book: Let’s Talk About Prayer: Simple Steps to Connect with God
Conclusion
As you can see, the theme in these praise scriptures rings loud and clear: keep praising the Lord, no matter what.
Whether you’re walking through a trial, weathering a difficult season, praying for a breakthrough, or celebrating the goodness of God, Bible verses on praise invite all of us, in every season, to fix our eyes on Jesus and give Him the praise He’s worthy of.
When we choose to praise Him, our faith is strengthened, heaviness leaves, and we’re reminded what life is truly about: to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).
For more inspiration on how to incorporate praise into your daily rhythms and tips on how to live out your faith, head to the Everyday Faith Podcast on YouTube:
