The 5 W's & 1 H of Praising God

When reporters write an article, they are trained to provide the 5 W’s and 1 H in the article: Who, What Why, Where, When, and How. God gives us the 5 Ws and 1 H of praise so we can be correctly instructed in giving Him praise.

WHO

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6 (KJV)

Everyone and everything, all of creation, is to praise the Lord. Everything with breath, every living thing, is to praise Him. Psalm 148 also tells us that the heavens, angels, sun, moon, stars, the earth, the deep, the mountains, hills, snow, and trees all praise Him.

WHAT

We praise what God is doing and has done. He builds us up. He gathers the outcast to Him. He understands. He lifts up the meek. These are just a few of the wonderful works of the Lord and He should be praised for them all. Psalm 136, Psalm 147

WHY

We praise Him because of Who He is. God is glorious, honorable, majestic, mighty, great and good. He is righteous and full of compassion. He is slow to anger, great in mercy, and holy. We can praise God in His marvelous attritbutes as they describe who He is. Psalm 145

WHERE

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:7-14 (KJV)

We are to praise God wherever we are, whether at church, home, work, school, or in public places. We are even to praise Him as we come and go. We praise God everywhere because He is always with us no matter our location. Psalm 150:1, Psalm 139: 7-14, Matthew 28:20

WHEN

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

We are to praise continually- at all times. There is never a time that God is not near. There is never a time that God cannot hear us. Therefore, there is never a time when we are to stop giving Him praise.

HOW

The book of Psalms is our guide on how to praise God. We are to praise with instruments, with singing, dancing, shouting, clapping, kneeling, bowing. We are to let the Holy Spirit lead us in expressing our praise. When outer expressions of praise are not appropriate, such as in certain public places, we are to sing and make melody in our hearts to Him. Psalm 150, Ephesians 5:19

Surely, the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory!