Day 59
Psalm 47:7
"For God is King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding."
When one approaches a dignitary and speaks, he normally attempts to say only what makes sense, what he himself understands. This is particularly true if he is alone and has to answer any questions about what he was saying. Unless he was simply relaying a message -repeating what someone else said - he would be prepared to explain, if necessary, what he was saying. The higher the dignitary, the more particular we will probably be about what we say. In days gone by, people have approached God as though they were relaying a message - repeating what someone else said. When we get into His presence and want to engage in one-on-one communion with praise and worship, we must realize that God is not a local authority - He is King of all the earth. We should understand what we are saying or singing, particularly if it is voluntary. If He did not tell us to say or sing anything in particular, we are either choosing to sound intelligent or silly, real or phony. Once, I said something like, "Lord, I praise you!" He asked me what I meant by that. The closer we get to God and the more intimate our level of communication is, the more He demands intelligent and real conversation. There is a difference between chanting with the crowd and talking one-on-one.
When we approach a higher level of praise and worship as described above, our methods will change. We will develop a more unique style. Instead of pre-meditating phrases and sentences we are familiar with because it is what everyone else says, we will express what we really mean in our hearts. The psalms, hymns and chants that have been pre-recorded are wonderful for group singing and praise. However, remember that many psalmists and hymnists did not learn those songs, but wrote them out of personal experience. Before anyone else read or heard their work, those words came from their hearts and were heard by God as one-on-one communication that was intelligent and real.
We can do the same thing. Praise is simply bragging on someone, lauding them because of their accomplishments. Surely, God has done enough for us to warrant our being able to praise Him. We should give him honor for specific things He's done in our lives, and for what He means to us individually. I heard a child say: "God, you are so comfortable!" I doubt I will ever forget that. That is an example of what lam talking about. It wasn't something he heard but something he felt personally about His relationship with his Heavenly Father.
I will praise God more out of my spirit- not just in other tongues, but with my understanding also. I will worship Him with realness and intelligence. He is King of all the earth, and I will endeavor to treat Him accordingly.