9.30.10

The following question was found online. It is from the viewpoint of someone who does not believe in God, and is looking for questions that cannot be answered in order to justify his/her belief that there is no God. You can hear the lack of trust in God in the question. The viewpoint of my answer is from total trust in God. Each answer is a quick overview – not a detailed explanation! God is a God of truth, and the Bible is full of answers…

Why does God want to be praised?

As a Christian, this question can quickly seem pretty ridiculous, because worshipping the Lord is one of the most joyous aspects of the Christian life! A Christian who is worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) finds life through worship, so a quick response would be: “What does it matter why God wants to be praised? I will praise God no matter what the answer, because I find life when I praise God!”

For someone who does not believe in God, however, this question is based on an assumption that God is selfish, and it would be meaningless to give Him praise. Let’s take a closer look…

The heart of this question doesn’t understand one of the most basic parts of being a Christian: it is a relationship. When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save us from our sin and give us life, we are entering into a relationship with God. Throughout the Bible, we can see parallels between our relationship with God and the marriage relationship: the husband is compared to Jesus and the wife to the church in Ephesians 5:22-33. Continuing with this comparison, we might as well ask the question: why does a wife love her husband, and a husband want the love of his wife? The question seems silly, because in a relationship you love each other. You love each other because the spouse has attributes and traits which excite you. You love each other because of things the spouse has done for you. These are worldly, but real reasons. Hopefully, in a Christian marriage you love each other with the unconditional love God has placed within your hearts. When a husband and wife love each other, they express this love. They can express love through serving each other, having physical intimacy, giving gifts to each other, etc… When we love on the Lord, how do we express this love? We express the love through obedience and service, through giving gifts just like we can with our spouse. Our ultimate expression of love, however, is through praise.

The Psalmist expresses this idea in Psalm 100:4-5. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Praise is a one-way communication with God. We are telling him we love Him; we are telling Him how great He is; we are thanking Him for the things He has done in our lives. When the Lord rescued Israel through the crossing of the Red Sea, Moses and Miriam praise God in Exodus 15:1-2. “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

Does praise stop here? Not at all. Psalm 22:3 says “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” When we praise God, His presence dwells in the midst of our praises. When God is with us, the communication suddenly becomes two-way. God is speaking to us: affirming us of the truth; convicting of sin; reminding us of scripture; etc… This is worship.

Is God’s presence good or bad? Certainly good! James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Jesus says in Matthew 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Based on these scriptures, you could certainly conclude that God has our greatest good in mind when He is with us!

To sum it all up: we praise God in relationship, His presence resides with us in the praise, and He certainly has our best interest at His heart.

So then, to answer the question, “Why does God want to be praised?” The conclusion is the furthest thing from selfishness! God wants to be praised because He wants what is best for us, and this goodness can only be found in His presence.

Praise the Lord!