For my birthday, our editor Kristina gave me a devotional book by A.W. Tozer (“Tozer on the Almighty God” published by Wing Spread Publishers), a highly respected evangelical pastor who died in 1963. I waited until January 1st to start the daily readings, and to my delight found these thoughts in the first paragraph:

“To be articulate at certain times we are compelled to fall back upon ‘Oh!’ a primitive exclamatory sound that is hardly a word at all. But when the heart, on its knees, moves into the awesome Presence…the worshiper can only cry ‘Oh!’, and that simple exclamation becomes more eloquent than learned speech and, I have no doubt, dearer to God than any oratory”.

Tozer goes on to point out that in theology there is no “Oh!” because theology is all about the intellect, and what we can understand expressed in words. But when God himself appears - awesome, vast, incomprehensible - then the mind sinks into silence and the heart cries out “Oh, Lord God!” This is the difference between theological knowledge and spiritual experience, and it’s not just a verbal difference, but a vital difference. In Tozer’s words “We Christians should watch lest we lose the “Oh!” from our hearts”. I agree - there is something much more wonderful happening when I say “Oh, Lord!” rather than just “Lord!”. My heart engages in a different way. This made me think about the importance of praising God, asking myself if praise is as significant in my life today as 30 years ago.

“Praise the Lord!” a catch phrase

For me, one of the greatest blessings of the Charismatic Renewal was the realisation that I wanted to praise and worship God, not just for what he does, but for who he is. I remember reading books about praise, and really entering into it joyfully whenever we met for prayer. Hymns sung at church took on a fresh meaning, and wonderful new Holy Spirit inspired songs were being written. This was the experience of many of us, and if I had a pound for every time I heard or said ‘Praise the Lord!’ I’d be a rich man. It became our catch-phrase, and no caricature of a charismatic was complete without it. At first it had real meaning, but when something becomes a habit we easily lose sight of its importance. How sad if ‘Praise the Lord!’ has become an almost meaningless utterance, when one of the great lessons we have learned is the importance of being a praising and thankful people. We must be careful not to use the phrase casually - true praise will always come from our hearts as well as from our lips, and it will express something we believe very deeply. Today I’m afraid that our familiarity with praise means we do it with less enthusiasm and joy. Often we simply do it less.

We get a new perspective when we focus on God in praise

Praise of God should be at the very heart of our lives as Christians, and the Scriptures encourage us to praise God at all times and in all things (Ephesians 5:20 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Praise should never depend on how I feel at any given moment, but on my experience of God’s nature - loving, faithful, forgiving - and the relationship I have with him. When I look to the Lord instead of at my problems, I’ll find a new perspective - his. As the writer to the Hebrews tells us (Heb.13:15) this is a sacrifice, and there will be many times when we experience the sacrificial nature of praise. Often we don’t feel like it or want to do it, and that’s when we have to forget about ourselves, concentrate on him, and get on with it. On other occasions it’s spontaneous - we’re caught up in the joyful, loving, intimate presence of God our Father, recognising only that we are his children and turning to him with the word ‘Abba’ on our lips. That’s when praise is easy.

The Scriptures encourage us to express our praise in all sorts of ways - singing, shouting, laughing, clapping, dancing, playing instruments, raising our hands, walking and leaping! There will always be those who criticise any outward demonstration of joy or emotion - Jesus was asked to stop the crowds shouting out their praise (Luke 19:39) but he refused and so should we. Joyful singing will draw people to our meetings and churches in a way that little else will, but unless we’re praising God in our private prayer, we’re going to find it hard to praise him enthusiastically in public. I’ve learned that the more we praise him, the simpler the vocabulary becomes. This is an important reminder from Tozer - I used to think this way once, but sadly it got lost somewhere along the way. So as we move into 2009, I’m crying out to the Lord - “Don’t ever let me lose the “Oh!” from my heart when I come to praise and worship you!” © Charles Whitehead

Charles Whitehead, is a former ICCRS president, and a Life Member of the NSC for CCR in England. He is also the founder of the Celebrate conference and an international speaker and leader.