How to Praise God in Every Circumstance

Having the freedom to read God’s Word is a blessing. As I have grown in my walk with Jesus, I have learned more and more about the importance of praising God.

There are many praise scriptures that instruct us to praise God in the Bible like Psalm 103:1-2.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Psalm 103:1-2 ESV

Knowing how to praise God in every circumstance can be difficult. We may even forget to praise God because we are too busy or we aren’t feeling thankful.

Why Should I Praise God?

We should praise God because He is our Maker. Everything we have comes from Him. Psalm 24:1, NKJV tells us that “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.”

If you believe that God created you and His promises are true, then you should have the desire to praise Him. Praising God is how we express our love for Him and all that He does for us.

What is the Difference Between Praise and Worship?

Worship and praise are very similar ways to show our love and thankfulness for God.

Praise is how we thank God for all He has done for us. Psalm 18:3, KJV, says “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

Worship is a heart issue. In order to worship God we need to put ourselves aside and surrender ourselves to His control. We worship God in Spirit and in Truth. John 4:23, NIV, tells us “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

You should only be worshipping God. You can’t worship God and something else at the same time.

“You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” Luke 4:8 ESV

Examples of worship include: Reading the Bible and praying in humility and acknowledging that God is the Lord of our lives.

Examples of Praise include singing, sharing what He has done for us, and celebrating Him through joyful noise.

As believers, we should be worshipping and praising God daily. We can do this any time of the day and wherever we go. It’s how we communicate with God.

• Where to Find God: 8 Places to Find Him

What Happens When We Praise God?

Praising God should come naturally to us. After all, we use praise in all areas of our lives. Focusing on praising God can remind us of who God really is. Here are some things we are reminded of:

• God is in control
• Humbling ourselves
• Making God our center
• Surrendering our will to His
• Encouragement to go on
• Taking time to enjoy His presence
• Casting our cares on Him
• Trusting Him with our lives
• Loving others

Praising God in Every Circumstance

Now that we have a better understanding of how to praise God, you may be wondering how you can praise God in every circumstance.

As humans, we are going to experience trials. The Bible shows us many different trials that people have gone through. We should be encouraged in knowing that God promises to be there for us during every trial. He is with us all the time. All we have to do is invite Him in to be the Lord of our life.

James 1:2-8 tells us to count it all joy when we face various trials, that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. Read it for yourself:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

I chuckle when I think of this verse because trials are hard and sometimes we want to blame God for the trial. Learning to trust God through the trial is the answer. We need to have faith that God is going to use our trial for good (Romans 8:28).

If we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), then we should be able to praise God in every circumstance.

Pray to God in faith and ask Him to help you believe that He is working everything out for your good. Surrender your will to His, study His Word and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and you will see that He is worthy to be praised and worshipped in all circumstances.

How to Praise and Worship God

Praising and worshiping God is such a joy. Knowing that He is above all things gives me comfort in knowing that everything is going to be ok.

I would love to say that knowing how to praise and worship God is obvious but that’s not always the case. Our world has exalted so many things above God that it leads me to believe that not everyone knows how to praise God.

Since the Bible is absolute Truth, we will explore the different areas it speaks of praising and worshipping God. This is not an exhaustive list of all the ways to praise God because you may have developed your own ways of worshipping God.  Which is totally fine and expected if you love the Lord with all your heart.

This is how the Bible tells us to worship and praise God.

Praise and Worship Him with Musical Instruments and Singing

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” Psalm 98:4-6 NIV

Praise and Worship Him through Assembling with Others 

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” Hebrews 2:12 NIV

Praise and Worship Him by Ourselves

“Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.” 2 Samuel 12:20 NIV

Praise and Worship Him through Cries of Joy and Clapping of Hands

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.” Psalm 47:1-2 NIV

Worshipping and Praising God in Different Positions

Praising and worshipping God can be done in many different positions. Here are some examples:

• Lifting Hands (Psalms 63:4)
• Dancing (Psalm 149:3)
• Sitting (Acts 2:1-2)
• Bowing Head (2 Chronicles 29:30)
• Kneeling (Psalm 95:6)
• Standing (Exodus 33:10)
• Face Down (Nehemiah 8:6)

What’s Your Favorite Way to Praise and Worship God?

We see a lot of examples of how to praise God in the Bible. This doesn’t mean we have to worship Him these ways. God loves all our worship if it’s genuinely from our hearts.

My favorite way to praise God is through music. What’s yours?