Prayer Week 2: Praise and Thanks

In Mike’s sermon on Sunday, he talked about why we should “fish” (why we should share our faith). First, he stated that we should share our faith because someone cared enough about us to share with us. Second, he stated that we should share our faith because we can’t help it. (See Acts 4:20 – “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”)

In addition to the desire to share Christ, I think the same can be said about Praising God. I think that we often become so focused on the “I want” and “I need” of prayer that we forget to praise God and say thank you for answered prayers. The problem is that we are so focused on asking God for things that we forget to thank God and praise God. This is not the way our prayer life should be. Instead, we should feel that we can’t help but praise God for the things he has done.

I have been reading C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms. In this book, Lewis has much to say about praise. The book states:

"I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise......The world rings with praise – lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game..... I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." (p.80.)

The book also says, "The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.”

Lewis is making the point that praising God is not one more item to check off of our “to do list for prayer”. But instead, praise should be natural to us as a natural expression of our appreciation of something.

I would like to encourage everyone to not only submit prayer requests to this list, but also let us know when God answers a prayer. Also, feel free to share praises with the Refinery Church family.

Remember, you can also read the prayer email update at http://bethleann.blogspot.com/