But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3 (KJV)
According to today’s verse, God dwells in the praises of his people.
What does this mean? Does it mean that if we don’t praise God, he isn’t with us?
First, let’s take a look at God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God exists in two places: planet earth and the place called heaven. In heaven, there’s nothing we have to do to experience God’s presence. Nothing exists there to separate us from him. Spirit, soul and body, we will be forever in his presence.
Here on earth, according to Jesus in Luke 17:21, we can have God’s kingdom within us. It comes by receiving the Christ as our Saviour. It’s a choice. Although his presence is always with us and in us as believers, we have to choose to consciously cultivate his presence—to bring him into our everyday living.
Psalm 100:4 says that we “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” In other words, one choice we make to cultivate God’s presence is the choice to praise him.
God is always with us and in us as believers, but praising him brings our attention to him, which causes us to experience the benefits of that presence. As Psalm 34:3 teaches, we “magnify the Lord” when we “exalt His name” (NKJV), which means we make him bigger in our lives by causing him to take up a bigger piece of our attention.
You can praise God every day! Remember, praise doesn’t make God feel better about himself. Praise is for your benefit. It keeps you in the environment where you function best: his presence.