Those of you who are familiar with the Psalms immediately recognize the fact that “Praise” is one of the constant themes of those who composed the Psalms. Their desire for the nation to sing praises to God was the driving force behind their creation of psalms to be sung by the people of Israel. And those psalms of praise came in two distinct forms: 1) Psalms of praise for who God is; and 2) Psalms of praise for what God has done. Let’s check out the first – Psalms of praise for who God is from Psalm 145:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that He has made (Psalm 145: 1, 8-9).

Notice God’s character revealed in these few verses, including His grace, mercy, patience, and steadfast love. Furthermore, the psalmist noted that the Lord is good to all, and His mercy extends over all that He has made. In our quiet times, let’s learn to reflect upon all of the aspects of God’s character that we can recall to our minds, just as the Psalmist did 3,000 years ago, and then offer up sincere expressions of praise.

But in addition to praising God for His character, we need to also include praise for all of His mighty deeds. Let’s take a quick look at Psalm 8:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4).

This is a potent reminder for all of us that even though God has created the heavens along with the sun, moon and stars, He is still “mindful” of us, and He even “cares” for us. Wow! The Creator of the universe not only knows us, but He also cares deeply for us.

And Psalm 65 has something for us to focus on each day:

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy (Psalm 65:8).

The simple act of looking out our window at God’s creation each morning when we awake should create in us a heart of praise and songs of joy.

And there is just one verse in the New Testament that I would like us to focus on, and that verse is found in the Book of Hebrews:

Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15).

What was that again – “A sacrifice of praise!” Why is praise a sacrifice? A sacrifice is something that, by definition, costs us something. But we say, “I love to sing praises to God” and that is good, but it usually comes during those times when we sense God’s blessings falling upon us. But what about those times when we are discouraged and filled with anxiety and fear? That’s when offering “praise” is a sacrifice because that is the last thing we want to do at the time, but that’s just when we need to do it!

And so, dear friends, this year in 2026, let’s make a commitment to praise God, not only for who He is, but also for all He has done. And let’s also remember to praise Him during those times when we feel blessed as well as during those times when we feel discouraged. May God bless each of you as we embark on this new year.

 Sincerely, Jim Price