Sometimes I feel selfish when I praise God.

That may not make sense to you, and I talked to God about it, because above all other times and places, I want my position and time of praise to be about God. However, praise does me so much good I can’t help but consider those benefits, even in the middle of a time of praise.

Then I realized that God created praise perfectly. It was our sovereign Creator’s plan for praise to be for Him and for us, and it affects Satan as well. Praise:

• Gives God the glory due His name. 1 Chronicles 16:29 says, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
• Builds my/our faith and trust in Him. Psalm 40:3 says, “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
• Puts the devil in his rightful low place, below our El Elyon, our God Most High. “‘Blessed … be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand'” (Genesis 14:19-20). “‘“I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other”’” (Isaiah 45:5-6).

I am working on keeping my mind on the Lord when I worship Him and praise Him instead of continually being bombarded with thinking of His benefits toward us, but there are so many benefits that it is difficult, so much so that many times I break into thanksgiving.

I thank El Elyon for outranking every enemy every time.

I thank Him that His justness ensures that we never have to fear He will be unfair.

I thank Him that His being Jehovah Rapha results in the healing of our bodies, minds, and emotions.

I thank Him that His being Savior provides for our spending eternity with Him.

I thank Him for being Jehovah Jireh, because He sees to our needs.

I praise Him for being Jehovah Shammah, since it makes sure He never leaves us or forsakes us, because He is The Lord Is There.

I thank Him that as El Roi, He always sees me, wherever I am and in whatever condition.

And there are so many more benefits we reap because of who God is.

Thanksgiving pleases Him, too, making it a win-win for God and us, and a lose-lose for Satan. God created praise perfectly for all involved, and that is yet another reason to give Him praise!