Praise the Lord: The Blessing of Praising God

Why praising God in difficult times can change our hearts, invite His presence, and position us to experience His help

Welcome to another episode of the Health for the Spirit, Soul, and Body Blog from Doxa Missions. Today, we’re looking at something that sounds simple but can become very difficult when life is not going the way we hoped: praise the Lord.

It is easy to praise God when everything is going well. It is much harder when we are disappointed, hurting, confused, or waiting for an answer.

Yet throughout Scripture, we repeatedly see God’s people praising Him not only after victory, but sometimes before the situation changed.

By the end of this post, you’ll understand why praising the Lord is much more than singing a song—and why praise can become one of the most powerful expressions of faith during difficult seasons.

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord

Psalm 150 ends with one of the clearest invitations to praise in the entire Bible:

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” — Psalm 150:6 (KJV)

Notice that the verse does not say, “Let everyone whose life is going perfectly praise the Lord.”

It simply says, “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.”

If we are breathing, we already have a reason to praise.

Praise begins with recognizing who God is rather than focusing only on what is happening around us.

Psalm 34:1 says:

“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” — Psalm 34:1 (KJV)

David did not say he would praise God only when circumstances were favorable. He said, “at all times.”

That includes the good days.

It also includes the difficult ones.

When I Did Not Feel Like Praising God

There was a time in my own life when I did not enjoy praise and worship.

In fact, I disliked it.

I was going through a difficult season, and whenever someone told me that I needed to praise the Lord, it almost seemed unreasonable to me.

I remember thinking, Why should I be singing? Why should I be dancing? What exactly am I celebrating?

My circumstances did not seem to give me any reason to rejoice.

From where I stood at the time, praise seemed disconnected from what I was actually experiencing.

But I eventually began to understand something important.

Praise is not pretending that everything is fine.

Praise is choosing to acknowledge that God is still God even when everything is not fine.

There is a difference.

We can acknowledge our pain and still praise.

We can have unanswered questions and still praise.

We can be waiting for change and still praise.

Praise says, Lord, I may not understand what is happening, but I still recognize who You are.

God Dwells in the Praises of His People

Psalm 22:3 says:

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” — Psalm 22:3 (KJV)

There is something significant about praise and the presence of God.

We see a powerful picture of this when Solomon dedicated the temple.

The singers and musicians praised God together, declaring His goodness and mercy.

Second Chronicles 5:13–14 records:

“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” — 2 Chronicles 5:13–14 (KJV)

They praised.

And the glory of God filled the temple.

Praise does not manipulate God or force Him to act. Rather, praise turns our attention toward the God who is already present and acknowledges His greatness, goodness, and faithfulness.

The Lord Is Blessed When We Praise Him

Psalm 103:1 says:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” — Psalm 103:1 (KJV)

We often ask God to bless us.

But Scripture repeatedly tells us to bless the Lord.

How can we bless God?

One way is through praise, thanksgiving, worship, obedience, and the willing offering of our hearts to Him.

There is something beautiful about a human being freely choosing to praise God.

Human beings are unique. We have personality, creativity, intelligence, emotions, voices, movement, music, poetry, art, and countless ways of expressing ourselves.

When we take what makes us unique and offer it back to God in worship, it honors Him.

Some praise quietly.

Some sing.

Some dance.

Some write.

Some pray.

Some play instruments.

What matters most is the heart that says:

“Lord, I honor You.”

David: A Man Who Learned to Praise

David wrote many of the Psalms, which are essentially prayers and songs addressed to God.

His writings contain celebration, thanksgiving, sorrow, fear, repentance, confidence, and praise.

David experienced enormous difficulties. He faced enemies, betrayal, rejection, family conflict, danger, and personal failure.

Yet praise remained a defining feature of his relationship with God.

In Acts 13:22, God refers to David as:

“a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” — Acts 13:22 (KJV)

David was not perfect.

But he continually turned his heart toward God.

Perhaps that is one of the great lessons of praise.

Praise keeps turning our hearts back toward the Lord.

Praise the Lord When You Need Help

One of the most remarkable examples of praise during crisis appears in 2 Chronicles 20.

King Jehoshaphat and Judah were facing a large enemy army. Humanly speaking, the situation was frightening.

Jehoshaphat prayed:

“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” — 2 Chronicles 20:12 (KJV)

What a powerful prayer.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Then something extraordinary happened.

Instead of putting the strongest soldiers at the front, Jehoshaphat appointed singers to praise the Lord.

Scripture says:

“And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” — 2 Chronicles 20:22 (KJV)

They began to praise before they saw the victory.

And God moved on their behalf.

This does not mean praise is a formula that guarantees every problem will immediately disappear. But it teaches us something profound:

When we do not know what to do, we can still turn our eyes toward God.

When we cannot control the battle, we can still praise the One who can.

Praise Changes What We Are Looking At

Difficult circumstances naturally pull our attention toward the problem.

We think about it.

We talk about it.

We rehearse it repeatedly in our minds.

Praise redirects our attention.

The problem may still be there, but praise reminds us that the problem is not the only reality present.

God is present too.

His character has not changed.

His love has not changed.

His faithfulness has not changed.

His power has not changed.

His promises have not changed.

Habakkuk expressed this beautifully:

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” — Habakkuk 3:17–18 (KJV)

That little word “yet” is powerful.

Things may not have worked out yet.

Yet I will rejoice.

The answer may not have appeared yet.

Yet I will praise.

I may not understand what God is doing.

Yet I will trust Him.

Praise Before You See the Answer

Sometimes we think we will praise God after He answers the prayer.

Scripture teaches us that there are also times to praise Him while we are waiting.

Praise says:

Lord, You are good even before I see the outcome.

Lord, You are faithful even while I wait.

Lord, You are worthy regardless of my circumstances.

And something happens within us when we begin to praise.

Fear starts losing its grip.

Our perspective changes.

Our hearts become more aware of God.

Faith begins to rise.

Hope begins to return.

We remember that we are not facing life alone.

Start Where You Are

Perhaps you are going through a season similar to the one I once experienced.

Someone may tell you, “Praise the Lord,” and your immediate thought may be, You do not understand what I am going through.

You do not have to pretend.

Start honestly.

You can simply say:

Lord, this is difficult.

I do not understand it.

I do not feel like praising You.

But I choose to acknowledge that You are still God.

Then begin thanking Him for what you know about Him.

Thank Him for life.

Thank Him for salvation.

Thank Him for His mercy.

Thank Him for His faithfulness.

Thank Him for the victories you have already seen.

And begin to praise the Lord for who He is.

The circumstances may not change immediately.

But you may discover that something begins to change inside you.

Your eyes begin to move from the size of the problem to the greatness of your God.

And sometimes, as Scripture shows us, while God's people are praising, God begins to move in ways they could never have accomplished for themselves.

So today, whether you are celebrating a victory or standing in the middle of a battle:

Praise the Lord.

Let everything that has breath praise Him.

A question for you

Have you ever experienced a difficult season when choosing to praise the Lord changed your perspective—or when you later saw God intervene in a way you did not expect?

Share your experience in the comments. Your testimony may encourage someone else who is finding it difficult to praise today.