·         We must praise Him in love

For us to give God praise in an acceptable way, we must do it with love. John 3:16 says ‘for God so love the world that he gave His only begotten son’. Unconditional love for God must always be the foundation and motivation in order for our praise to be acceptable.

(I cor 13:1-3)

1: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2: And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profited me nothing.

What this place is explaining is the motivation factor, must be the love of God burning in our heart; that passionate love, the kind of love that knows no boundary and we are expected to give back to Him.

Praise Him with affection and love then He will win our battles for us in all ramification.

in Luke 10:27, the bible said ” thou shall love the lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy strength and mind and love thy neighbour as thy self”.

The motivation for giving Him praise and adoration must be the love of God burning in our heart. That is a non-negotiable way for our praise to be acceptable. If we are not sincere about it then we are wasting our time. And this will bring about the question; is God the number one in your life?

Are you praising Him just because your neighbor will look at you that you are not dancing?  What is your motivation?

·         Praising God joyfully/cheerfully

God love a cheerful mind and those who do things for him joyfully. Are you the type in the midst of those witnessing because you will be sanctioned if you are not there. That is not acceptable because you will ended up going there for going sake, no blessing attached.(Psalm 27:6)

Praising God because you’re told to do so or wearing a sad face does not have an in-depth feeling and gratitude. It must be done joyfully and with a cheerful mind.

Psalm 43:4&5

4:Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

5: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

For our praise to be accepted, it must be done joyfully. When you’re praising God and squeezing your face, it means you are telling God to take His praise if He likes it or not. We must rejoice always and have a cheerful heart when praising and appreciating God.

·         Praise God willingly

we are not meant to be coarse to praise God. He will never accept it from anybody. God is the king and He will never go against His word.

In Genesis 1:26 said, God created us in His image which makes us to be willful. He will never manipulate us to do anything, so if you want to praise God in an acceptable way let it be a choice we made. We praise God not that we have to but because we want to.

If we want to praise God in an acceptable way let it be a choice we make and not by force because this will only lead to a waste of time. You can’t force anybody under duress by putting a gun to their head or using matchet. It must be done willingly.

(Philemon 1:14)

But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

we have to make that choice to praise him no matter what the condition might be.

·         Praise God consistently

This illustrates the farmers. When they plant this year, they reap the harvest next year but if they fail to plant next year, they will surfer it the following year because their planting is not consistence.

In Isaiah 55:10 says when the rain comes, it doesn’t return until it performs the function of which it was sent to give bread to the eater and seed to the sower. Bread is meant to be eaten likewise seed is meant to be planted. If the seed is eaten then nothing to plant. When you don’t give sacrifice unto the lord then you don’t reap the benefits. The benefit of what you are reaping right now is what you sowed before.

This is also related to our dealings with God. Some, when things are hard they praise God but immediately things change for better for them, their praising lips are sealed and it will not be consistent. God is not asking us for this kind of praise.

Even though we face challenges and problems of life, we are expected to praise God. We praise Him in any weather condition: Cold, dry or Harmattan. (Galatian 6:9)

·         Praise God sacrificially

Praising is a sacrifice, not only when it’s convenient. Even though nations rise up against us, or the contract goes sideways or we failed that exam, we are to praise Him in these conditions just like Job did. Even though things are not right, I will still give him all the glory, praises, and adoration.

(ll Chronicle 20)

18: And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.

19: And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

21: And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever

22: 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 Judeh; and they were smitten.

·         Praise God in the chosen places

Most Christians don’t go about with their Bible nowadays, they’re not able to declare God and ashamed of Him publicly. We are meant to praise God among the congregation of the saint and also publicly. When they brought David the ark. He danced and danced and proclaimed he wasn’t dancing before any king or anybody but his God. You have nothing to lose by praising Him and do not praise God on behalf of anybody. It’s never a proper thing to do for a parent to praise God on behalf of their children while the children are old enough to do that or a wife praising in place of her husband.

Everybody should search their heart and have a reason to praise him because we all have different encounter with God

( Psalm 149:1&2 )Praise the Lord, sing unto the lord a new song and his praise in the congregation of the saint. Let Israel rejoice in Him that made Him, Let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.