Praise Is a Sacrifice

Let’s look at a verse from the book of Proverbs that points to the importance of what we say with our mouths. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].” Proverbs 18:21 AMP.

Two things come from the use of the tongue: Death and Life. If we grumble, or if we are negative or self-centred, our tongues will bring forth death. But if we are liberated from all negativity and are walking in the praise and worship of God, our tongues will bring forth life.

So, whatever fruit our tongues bring forth, whether sweet or bitter, we are going to eat of it. Furthermore, one of the very significant words in the above verse is the word ‘sacrifice’. Praise is a sacrifice. According to the principles of scripture, a sacrifice requires a death. In the Old Testament with regards to sacrifices, nothing was ever offered to God that had not passed through death.

So, we see that the sacrifice of praise requires death, the death of the old man. The old man cannot praise God as He desires to be praised. There has to be a death. Again, we know that a sacrifice costs us something, thus praise is costly. We need to praise God most when we least feel like it. Praise cannot depend on our feelings. It is a sacrifice of our Spirits.