Praise - Do I Forget?

First, I want to share with you my devotional reading for this morning-

out of Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening", of course.

*smile*

"I will praise thee, O Lord." Psalms 9:1

Praise should always follow answered prayer;

as the mist of earth's gratitude rises when the sun of heaven's love warms the ground.

Hath the Lord been gracious to thee,

and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication?

Then praise him as long as thou livest.

Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life.

Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart.

To be silent over God's mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude;

it is to act as basely as the nine lepers,

who after they had been cured of their leprosy,

returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord.

To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves;

for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life.

It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith.

It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer,

and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master's service.

To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow-men;

"the humble shall hear thereof and be glad."

Others who have been in like circumstances shall take comfort if we can say,

"Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together;

this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him."

Weak hearts will be strengthened,

and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our "songs of deliverance."

Their doubts and fears will be rebuked,

as we teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

They too shall "sing in the ways of theLord,"

when they hear us magnify his holy name.

Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties.

The angels pray not, but they cease not to praise both day and night;

and the redeemed, clothed in white robes,

with palm-branches in their hands, are never weary of singing the newsong,

"Worthy is the Lamb."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning, as I meditate on my devotional reading

I find myself soul-searching and asking questions:

Are there times along this road of life,

with all it's many twists and turns

when I forget to praise my God?

Those times when I have spent hours in earnest prayer

over a particular situation -

and God finally answers, in His perfect timing-

how often do I remember to praise Him for His goodness?

for His opening of doors no man can close?

for His faithfulness?

Do I have more in common with those nine lepers

(who were healed of their disease and never returned to give thanks)

than I'd like to think?

Have I become so accustomed to

God moving in amazing ways and answering prayers

that I forget to stop and give Him due praise?

Lord, let it not be so.

Let me not lose the wonder and marvel of answered prayer.

I am worthy of not a single one of Your blessings -

not worthy that You, the Creator and Sustainer of this vast universe,

would incline your ear to hear the stumbling words

that fall from these lips in prayer.

"Because he hath inclined his ear unto me,

therefore will I call upon him as long as I live."
(Psalm 116:2)

"He is your praise;

he is your God,

who performed for you those great

and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."

(Deuteronomy 10:21)

And so this morning, I pray that I will not lose the awe and magnitude of all God has done and will continue to do in my life (and the life of my family). Let me never forget to stop and Give Him Praise. I have seen 'great and awesome wonders' with my own eyes - and I know that I will see many more - let me sing Your praise as long as I live!