Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God,

When do you find yourself praising the Lord? Is it when you have been blessed or on top of the mountain? It is normal for Christians to praise the Lord when all things in their life are going well or when they have overcome a trial of sorts. Do you ever think of praising the Lord while you are going through your struggle or while you are down? Probably not, you are likely to pray when things are not going well in your life, and when all is good again, you praise Him.

James 1:2 says to consider it joy when you face your trials, but I would not consider it praising God. Although we should give thanks to God for allowing us to go through the trials, for they equip us in our faith and perseverance. We do this knowing that it is through Him we find our strength (Philippians 4:13).

There are, however, other scriptures that talk about praising the Lord always, even during your times of struggle. I will bless the Lord always; His praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1). The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him (Psalm 28:7). Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name (Hebrews 13:15).

Acts 25 tells the story of Paul and Silas going to prison. Both men began praying and singing to God, and the prison doors flew open (Acts 25:25-26). This scene shows not only the power of prayer but also the power of praise.

What about the moments when you cannot think of something to praise God for as you face your trials? Psalm 104 begins by telling the soul to praise the Lord, and then the psalmist begins to remember the creation of the world and praises God for His creations and all the splendor He did in creating the world and all that was in it.

Psalm 148 is another good illustration of praising God. In this passage, the psalmist calls all in heaven to praise the Lord. Then he calls for the creatures of the sea to praise Him, and then the animals and flying birds. The psalm is simply about all living creation praising God.

We should always remember to praise God for all things. We should praise Him when all things are good and when all things are bad. We should praise Him even if all things are content in our world.

One last note, when we get to a point where all our prayers seem to have stopped being answered, then we should remember to praise the Lord. Sometimes you cannot just pray your way through it. Sometimes you have to praise your way through it.

Last week, the little lambs were introduced to the epistles that Paul wrote. This week we will be learning about Timothy and the letter Paul wrote Timothy and who Timothy was in the bible.

I look forward to worshiping the Lord with you tomorrow with songs of praise and dancing before the one who created all things. If, for whatever reason, I do not see you tomorrow, may the Lord bless you with joy, peace, and happiness beyond all measure, and may He also guide you, comfort you, and heal you whenever you need it.

God bless you,

Your brother in Christ,

Michael (aka Mr. Michael)