I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1  

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. I Thessalonians 5:16-18  

The psalmist says that he will bless the Lord at all times – that is ALL times. Whether good times, tough times, sad times, or joyful times. All times. Besides that, we are to only have praise in our mouths; that sounds like a good idea, but it can be difficult. How many times do we have other words in our mouths? Words of boasting or words that are hurtful? Words of criticism instead of support? Words of anger instead of calmly talking things through.  

Paul has the same message to the Thessalonians – rejoice always, pray without ceasing. Then the one that seems really hard, “give thanks in ALL circumstances.” There are a lot of circumstances where it is very hard to give thanks, just like it is hard to praise God. A note in my Bible says people are naturally happy in some occasions but the Christian’s joy is not dependent on circumstances. It comes from what Christ has done for us, and it is constant.   

Corrie ten Boom writes in “The Hiding Place” about thanking God for fleas. She and her sister were in a Nazi prison, for hiding Jews, and they were moved to a new barracks with lots of fleas. Her sister read this verse, and they thanked God for having a Bible, being able to pray and then the sister thanked God for the fleas. Corrie disagreed. She soon found out the fleas were a blessing as they kept the guards out of that barracks, allowing them to keep their Bible and do Bible study.  

In these uncertain times, what helps you to bless the Lord? We all could take some time each day to intentionally focus on blessing and thanking and praising God for all He has done for us.   

Glorious God, we thank you for the gift of being able to freely pray, praise, and worship you. May we continue to pray without ceasing in happy times and also during the hard times. Help us to daily come to you in prayers, seeking your mercy and healing. May our mouths be vessels of your love. In Jesus’ name   

Chris Gabel 

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party