Praising God seems to be different from praying, doesn’t it?  Really, they are two sides of the same coin. One does not exist well without the other.

Who is to shout for joy and praise?  We are, the whole earth is to do so.  We sing for joy before God, our Creator and the Savior of our souls.  We praise Him because of Who He is, and because of all that He has done for us.  He is God and deserves our worship and praise.  We kneel before Him as our Soverign Lord, the King of all the earth.  Would you stand silently before the God of the Universe if He were to suddenly appear at your door?  I don’t think so!  Your soul would burst out into praise to Him.  He is the Lamb who was slain, the God of our ancestors and the One who breathed the breath of life into us.  Indeed, He is worthy!  Hallelujah!  Bless His Name!

On the other side of the coin is the admonition to pray.  Those of us who call ourselves Christians are to repent and pray, not just for our own sins but for those around us, for our friends, our neighbors, our enemies, our leaders…for everyone that we can think of who needs to repent and turn from their “wicked ways.”  We need to pray for our entire nation.  If we want God to hear us, forgive the sins of our land and restore us, then we have to pray.  Prayer is not optional, nor is it on a timetable.  This is something we should do daily.  The lost depend on us…and God has called us to be partners in His plan of salvation.  We praise and then we pray.  How long do we continue to do this?  Until everyone has heard the gospel…just keep praying.  Remember Dory in “Finding Nemo”?  She just kept saying to herself, “Just keep swimming.”  We should be saying to ourselves, “Just keep praising and praying.”