Praising God with a Whole Heart

If there is one thing missing in many Christians in America today it would have to be having a passion for Jesus. And I might add that we often don’t have a passion for anything else. I believe that having a passion for something is what motivates us to be totally sold out for what we are passionate for. And when it comes to Jesus, God is looking for passionate Christians to turn the world upside down. And the exciting thing is that when we are passionate for Jesus, God strongly goes to bat for us for we read in (2 Chronicles 16:9):  “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

Once we become a Christian the journey of a lifetime begins. And one of the best ways to get more passionate about Jesus is to realize just what He has done for you. You were living a life of bondage to sin. Now you are free and alive in Christ. Peace and joy were a distant dream. Now they are a by-product of living for Christ. And your reservations in hell have been canceled and you are heaven bound! I can’t imagine how anyone who comes to Christ can’t get excited about their new relationship with the Savior.

But in order to maintain a high level of passion for Jesus not only is it important to thank Him often for what He has done for you but we must continually give our whole heart to serving and praising His name. David had the right frame of mind when he declared: “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.” (Psalm 9:1). Praising God with a whole heart is what Jesus is looking for. First, it takes the focus off ourselves and puts it where it belongs – on Jesus. Second, It brings glory to the Father, which is our highest calling, for we read in (Psalm 50:23): “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me…” And third, when your whole heart is into something – passion is sure to follow. Praising God continually will, I believe, stoke the flames of passion for Jesus and keep our whole heart focused on doing His will.

I love (Psalm 119) because it shows us just how passionate the psalmist is for the written Word of God. And we too should be even more passionate for both the written Word and the living Word – Jesus. The reason why we should be more passionate is because not only do we have more of the written Word then the psalmist had when he penned this amazing Psalm, but we have the living Word – Jesus revealed to us – while the psalmist only had a promise of a future Savior. Even without having the complete Bible just listen to how the psalmist in (Psalm 119) talks about his love for the Word:

“Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” (verse 2)

“With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.” (verse 10)

“Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” (verse 34)

“I entreated thy favor with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.” (verse 58)

“The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.” (verse 69)

“I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.” (verse 145)

How can we, like the psalmist, not praise God with our whole heart when we meditate on just how wonderful a God we serve. He gave us His written word – the Bible and the living word – Jesus. The price for serving Jesus is high – our whole heart – but the blessings are simply out of this world. So why not begin to really praise God – after all He is indeed worthy!