What does it mean to praise God with your life as a believer in Jesus? Sometimes we think of praising the Lord in a worship service, but it is much deeper than that. Praising the Lord with all our hearts is about offering sincere, wholehearted worship. It involves dedicating your feelings, intentions, actions, mind, soul, and will entirely to God, placing Him above everything else in your daily life.
This is the life we see Simeon living and it is the kind of life our Lord calls us to live. Luke 2:25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[1] In essence, Simeon was praising God through the life he led and remains a role model for us today.
Praising God is Putting Him First
Life is full of distractions that constantly try to pull us away from God and into the world. Our enemy knows how life-changing it is to put God first in our lives and works relentlessly to disrupt us. But what happens when we put God first? Like many people today, Simeon could have been somewhere else the hour Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus came to the Temple, but he wasn’t.
Simeon had surrendered his life to God, and by letting the Holy Spirit guide him, he was in the right place to fulfill God’s promise to him. When we praise God through the life we live, the Lord will guide us into a life only He can unfold. The heart of Simeon was to please God and be obedient to His guidance. You and I can do the same thing as we pray for God’s guidance through our lives. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [2]
Praising God By Aligning Your Will With His
The Lord has given us free will, but something begins to happen in our lives when we put aside our will to follow the Lord’s will. Romans 12:2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [3]
Living a life of surrender to God is not easy, but we can with the Lord’s help. The Lord understands our struggles, and it’s perfectly fine to ask Him in prayer for the strength to surrender to Him. Simeon lived a life surrendered to the Lord, but that does not mean his life was easy or that there weren’t times when he wanted his way.
It’s difficult to surrender to God, but as we learn to trust Him, we find that living a life of surrender becomes our desire. Seeing the Savior with His own eyes must have been the happiest day of Simeon’s life. Remember, it’s never too late to surrender to God’s will and let Him transform your heart to live for Him. This will enable you to praise God with your life. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-gifts-of-praise
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.