April 22, 2025 Devo

As I was reading through this psalm today, I noticed something. The psalmist was bargaining with God. Three or four times throughout this psalm in which he is asking God to vanquish his enemies, he tells God that if He does it, THEN he will praise him. “Then I will praise you,” “Then I will thank you,” and, “Then I will proclaim your justice.” Then, then, then. But what about “now?” Yes, I think it honors God when we thank Him for answering prayer. I believe it’s appropriate for us to acknowledge His deliverance and to praise Him for the victories that He has given us.
But I’m not sure using praise as a bargaining chip is the kind of praise God really wants. And let’s be honest. ANYONE can praise God when He has come through in the ways we want Him to. When God heals like we want Him to, of course, we’ll praise Him. When God provides abundantly and beyond, we all shout for joy. When God opens doors, makes a way, or gives us a miraculous answer to our problems, we love giving testimony to that power. But that’s praise in response.
I believe the highest praise, the most God-honoring praise, is Faith Praise. It’s the praise we give God because of who He is, regardless of what we’re going through. It’s the praise that puts full trust in God’s Character when we don’t understand what He’s up to. It’s the praise that believes God has the power to relieve our circumstances, but believes that even if He doesn’t, He’ll give us the strength to get through. It’s the praise that remembers all that He has already done and how good He has been. It's praise that doesn’t wait until “then.” It’s praise we give in the difficult here and now.
Maybe that’s the kind of praise God is calling YOU to today. Instead of trying to bargain with God or leverage Him to get Him to do what you want, why not just trust Him in what you’re going through? You want to truly bless God? Praise Him in your pain. Praise Him in your struggle. Praise Him right there in the middle of your mess. Not because if you do, He'll make everything better. But simply because He is our Amazing Father, even when life isn’t going our way. That’s Faith Praise. That’s God’s Word for you today.