“I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou most high.” Psalm 9:1,2

The psalmist was determined to find joy and gladness in the Lord. He purposed to praise God from the heart. We have to be called back again and again to focusing our hearts on our great God. An unhealthy focus on self has many negative effects. Being too preoccupied with the things of the world hinders our enthusiasm for the Lord. If difficult circumstances dominate our minds, then we will have “tunnel vision” that does not produce joy. 

It’s great to wake up in the morning and find your heart automatically praising God. But, in reality, that is not always the case. We often have to guide our hearts and minds into praise throughout our day. We have to consciously turn our minds away from distractions and praise God even when we don’t feel like it. A praising heart is a spiritually healthy heart. To rejoice in the Lord is to worship Him, which fulfills our purpose. 

I find it helpful to have several verses of doxology memorized in order to recite and help turn my heart to praise. Here are a few:

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” I Timothy 1:17

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 24, 25

Use these or other verses. Quote or sing the verses of a hymn. Ask the Lord to tune your heart to Him. Whatever it takes, let us follow this example of whole-hearted praise and joy in the Lord.

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