The psalmist wrote, ‘Come before His presence with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name’ (vv. 2, 4 NKJV). When you approach a king, a certain protocol is required. And David gives us the protocol for coming into the presence of the King of Kings: ‘Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.’ Question: is that your personal experience in church? Or do you stand like a spectator while the musicians, the worship team, or the choir do the singing and you do the listening? We are all called to ‘enter into’ praise! Worship is not something you merely hear with your ears; you express it with your lips – and your heart. When you fail to do so, there is a connection with God that is not made. You, personally, must worship God! And regardless of how gifted and talented they may be, no one else can do that for you. You say, ‘But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.’ The Bible says, ‘Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name’ (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV). God wants sacrificial praise. What’s that? Praise when you don’t feel like it. Praise when you are going through seasons of hardship. Praise when humanly speaking, you can’t think of a single thing to praise God for. With God, the praise that costs is the praise that counts. ‘I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth’ (Psalm 34:1 NKJV).
