10 Benefits of Hallelujah
10 Benefits of Hallelujah
Praising the Lord or (Hallelujah) is an important part of the life of the believer. The language of praise appears hundreds of times throughout the Bible and more than 100 occurrences are in the psalms alone. Why does the Bible encourage us to praise? What are the benefits?
1. Praise gives God the honor He deserves. Psalm 145:3
The most important reason to praise God is simply that He is worthy. Praise is the appropriate response to seeing God rightly.
2. Praise takes our eyes off ourselves and puts them on God. Psalm 147:1
Our natural tendency is to interpret everything through ourselves: my problems, my fears, my disappointments, and my needs. Praise deliberately redirects our attention: from the size of my problem to the greatness of my God. Praise reminds us that our circumstances are not the biggest reality in our lives. God is.
3. Praise reminds us of what is true. Psalm 105:1–5
Our emotions can lie to us. It can lead us to believe that God has forgotten me, God can’t help me, I have no hope. However, praise answers those feelings with truth. Praise is proclaiming truth back to our hearts. God is good, faithful, sovereign, near, keeps His promises, and has not changed.
4. Praise builds faith. Psalm 56:3–4
When I praise God for what He has already done, it strengthens my faith in what He can do now. David constantly remembers God's past faithfulness and then trusts God with his present trouble. Praise looks backward at God's faithfulness so that faith can look forward with confidence.
5. Praise changes our perspective even when it doesn't change our circumstances. Habakkuk 3:18
Praise isn't a magic formula for making problems disappear. Praise moves us from being controlled by our circumstances to being anchored in God's character. It may not change things around us but it changes something within you.
6. Praise fights discouragement, anxiety, and despair. It keeps sorrow from having the final word! Psalm 42:5.
Instead of allowing his discouraged heart to define God, he allows what he knows about God to address his discouraged heart. Praise says: “Soul, you are going to remember who God is.” Praising doesn’t mean sadness immediately disappears. Biblical praise can coexist with tears. However, Praise does keep sorrow from having the final word.
7. Praise produces gratitude and contentment. Psalm 100:4
Praise trains our hearts to notice grace. It's difficult to remain consumed with what God hasn't given you while intentionally thanking Him for what He has. Entitlement focuses on what is missing. Praise notices what has been given.
8. Praise humbles us. Psalm 147:3,4
True praise requires admitting that God is God, and I am not. Praise puts us in our proper place. It's not by making us insignificant, but by reminding us that our lives belong within a much bigger story centered on God.
9. Praise strengthens us during suffering. Acts 16:25
God is worthy of our praise in every season of life. Some of the most powerful praise in Scripture happens before difficult circumstances improve. It leads us to proclaim, “Even here, You are still good and even now, You are still God. Even if this doesn't turn out the way I want, You are still worthy.”
10. Praise is good for us because we were created for it. Psalm 147:1
Worship is what human beings were created to do. We are always assigning ultimate value to something. If we don't worship the Creator, we inevitably elevate created things. So praise isn't God saying, “Tell Me how wonderful I am because I need affirmation.” It is God inviting us and allowing us to see reality correctly. He is worthy and in control.
In light of the importance of praise in the life of the believer, may “everything that has breath praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6