Sacrifice of Praise: Hebrews 13:13-14
“15) Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16) And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16
The highest sacrifice we can offer to God is praise and thanksgiving. I now devote much of my prayer life to praise. I used to spend most of my time making requests, but now I devote most of my time to praise and thanksgiving. This harmonizes my spirit with the Spirit of God. It puts me in the attitude of seeking the Mind of Christ. Much of my praying becomes discerning the will of God and praying accordingly. This is a sacrifice of praise.
This exercise helps me take my mind off from myself and my selfish desires and helps me focus on others. It moves me from verse 15 to verse 16. It helps me empty myself of myself and rather consciously seek the good of others.
The longer I am away from the presence of God, the more my focus drifts back to self. I need to reset often during the day. It is easy to become a taker rather than a giver. The flesh naturally manipulates relationships in such a way as to be served rather than serving.
If you haven’t notice, the sacrifice of praise involves a dying to self. Instead of offering a bull, goat or lamb as the sacrifice, we become the living sacrifice. We position ourselves for God to work through us in doing good to others.
These two verses are absolutely profound. They might seem trite at first glance, but they contain the secret to a fruitful life for the glory of God. They are very difficult to consistently fulfill. It has been observed that “the tendency of a living sacrifice is to continually crawl off the altar!” I find this to be true in my life.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
