Why does God require worship, praise and thanksgiving? Some maintain that it is because God is an egomaniac and needs our praise and worship. However, we find a different rationale in the Scriptures. It is we who need it:
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Could it be that praise is medicine? Isaiah 61:3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
We need to praise Him, especially amid our suffering: Romans 5:3-5 …we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...”
In light of this, our Lord is a psychic surgeon who wants to remove a cancer of the Spirit. Would we accuse a doctor of being egotistical who recommends surgery to remove an operable cancer? Instead, we need God’s daily care which He delivers through prayer and thanksgiving:
Philippians 4:6–9 Rejoice, and again I say rejoice…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It seems that we can only learn this humbling lesson when we come to the end of our own resources. On one occasion, three unstopable armies were coming against Jerusalem. Israelites from the neighboring cities flocked this walled city where they congregated with their families in desperate prayer for God’s deliverance. It seemed that they were on the verge of loosing everything. Finally, a prophet of their Lord appeared to announce:
2 Chronicles 15, 20:20–22…”Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s’”…[as directed] they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, [King] Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.” And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.
Israel had little choice but to follow God’s instructions which might have seemed absurd. However, as they began to praise God, He took action and destroyed the three menacing armies.
Does God Need our Praise or anything else from us? Not at all! Instead, He loves those who turn to Him in our need and desperation: Isaiah 62:4–5 You shall no more be termed “Forsaken”, and your land shall no more be termed “Desolate”, but you shall be called “My Delight Is in Her”, and your land “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Some might charge that “God only acts on our behalf because He is getting pleasure out of it. He “delights” to do good for us! Therefore, He is using us to satisfy His own need for delight!
Not really! We might jump into the water to save someone drowning and if we succeed, we might delight in our act of love. However, we weren’t motivated by the delight we might achieve but because we wanted to do the right and loving thing. Could this not also be true of God!
James and John approached Jesus in private to request that, once He had obtained His kingdom, they would sit on His left and righthand side to reign with Him. Once the other Apostles heard about this, they became indignant with the two who wanted a greatness above others. However Jesus explained greatness was a matter of becoming a servant of love:
Matthew 20:26–28 “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus explicitly taught that He didn’t come to be praised or even worshipped but to sacrificially serve:
John 5: 34, 41 “Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.”… ”I do not receive [solicit] glory from people…
The only validation or glory He required came from His Father. Consequently, Jesus prayed to the Father: John 17:5 “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
Paul also preached God’s sufficiency in Tri9nity alone Acts 17:22-26 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything…
Lest we think that God owes us anything, He says: Psalm 50:15 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.
He owes us nothing! Romans 11:35–36 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.
God will never owe us anything. Nor can we claim, “You are denying us of our human rights!”
Yet He rejoices over us and ministers His precious love to us: Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Why will He rejoice over us? He truly loves us and wants to minister to those “heavy-laden”: Matthew 11:28–29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly [not self-promoting] in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
God is love itself. He doesn’t give in order to get. He is just being Himself as He loves those who are in dire need, those and will not misinterpret His love as something they deserve. As a result, brokenness is beautiful to Him. Therefore, He draws close to those He can love without feeding their pride: 1 Corinthians 1:28–31 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Psalm 34:18–19 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
A father had taken his
three-year-old son on a mountain walk. The sun was shining and everything was
just right. However, a rain-storm with thunder blew up. The son was terrified,
and so the father picked him up, clutching his crying son his breast and ran
down the mountain. Twenty years the son recalled what a terrifying experience
that it had been. The father replied that, for him, it was a precious
experience as he sheltered his son as he ran down the mountain.
Did the father do so because of the perks he would derive from this experience? Not at all. Instead, he was centered on loving his son. So too our heavenly Father who works all things for our good (Romans 8:28).
