My First Praise List

 

Praise 3

 

          In my first post in this series, I mentioned that I maintain several praise lists. Just as we have prayer lists, lists of names/ministries/burdens that help us remember what to pray for, so I believe we should have lists of what to praise God for as well. As we work through this series, I am going to share some of these lists with you. 

          Today’s list is simple. There are two sections with simple reminders in each section. I developed this one as a teenager. My father told me that thanks was gratitude directed toward God for what He had given me and that praise was gratitude directed toward God for what He is. At any rate, the psalmist tells us to praise God in a similar fashion. Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness. (Psalm 150.2) Using that as the foundation, I developed what I call my Gratitude List. I long ago lost track of how often I have used it. I do not think I have ever gone through it without weeping.

          I keep my praise and prayer lists in Evernote on my phone. Generally speaking, on a hike or walking around my church auditorium, I will pull out my phone and read the first item on the list. Then I will lower my phone and thank or praise God for that item for a while. When I am done, I will pick up my phone, read the next item on the list, and repeat the process. In such a fashion, I will work through this list usually in about a half hour.  

          My heart in this is to get some of you to catch a vision of how you, too, can praise the Lord. Every person reading this could relatively quickly develop their own similar list. Here is mine:

 

Who You Are

 

Wisdom

Knowledge

Power

Justice

Holiness

Eternality

Infinity

Mercy

Grace

Compassion

Care

Understanding

Faithfulness

Love

 

What You Have Given Me

 

Godly heritage

My home church

(withheld, two particular seasons of suffering)

Mentors

Training

Friends

Call to the ministry

My Pennsylvania pastorate

My Chicago pastorate

My Iowa pastorate

Specifically, in relation to my current church:

          Unity

          Spirit

          Giving

          Soul winning

          Men

          Workers

          Deacons

          Staff

Brennan’s Pen

Illumination

Health

Meniere’s Disease

Provision

The beauty of Dubuque

Saint's Rest

(each of my children, by name)

Mandy

Salvation

The Holy Spirit

The Scriptures

Answers to prayer

Heaven