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Praise - A gift we can give to others that gifts us in return
Praise is a positive word even before we place it in a context. We can easily think about what it is like to be praised or to praise someone, and to think of words, songs, and poetry that express praise of people and especially of God. We probably first learned about praise as children, when parents and others expressed great pleasure in something we said or did, or even simply because we existed. Being affirmed instills the confidence that enables us to show or put into words our appreciation for others.
Rarely does anyone reject praise or consider it inappropriate or offensive. Rather, in its various manifestations such as compliments, acknowledgements, expressions of gratitude and appreciation, as well as approving gestures and directed smiles, praise is a graciously double-sided gift that blesses both giver and receiver. At no cost to us, other than sometimes needing to overcome fear of how we might be perceived, we lift the spirits of others by showing appreciation for some aspect of their goodness, and in doing so are lifted in spirit ourselves.
Praise is one of those displays of love that are quite natural, unless we somehow let ourselves become deterred by negative, critical thoughts that could only be devised by an enemy of human nature. One possible corrective for such lines of thinking is to trust our honesty. Unless we sense that we are self-seeking, praise is always good. God gave us this capability for celebrating worthy behavior where we observe it, so that we will give a blessing to the one who receives it while we are blessed ourselves by calling attention to whatever is good.
Our expressions of gratitude are also praise, at least implicitly, as when we thank someone for cooking a fine meal. And just as praise takes its origin from the love that is in our hearts, gratitude arises from the same source. Many of the Psalms of Scripture as well as Liturgical songs direct both praise and thanks to God and can be rightly thought of as expressions of love.
We are familiar with the emotional power of love songs and poetic words of love that are a part of most human cultures. Love is not itself an emotion or a feeling, but when we sing, write, or say such things to others we are far more deeply involved in the loving activity than if we only kept it all in our minds. Likewise with God. Through songs and Psalms, which were composed as poetry to be sung, as well as through our bodily movements and gestures, we become more fully engaged in giving praise and thanks to God.
God does not need our praise, but we fulfill our own purpose in the ways we express our love, whether directly to God, or to any of the others whom God loves.
Last Updated 10/10/2026