What Do You Talk About?

One thing that shows us what we love is the things that we talk about. What do you spend your words on? For many of us, we might talk about our family or our favorite sports teams. How often do we talk to others about God?

While sharing the gospel is an important part of our Christian faith, it’s not the focus of this discussion. Do you ever talk about what God has done in your life? Do you ever give Him credit for the things in your life when talking to others?

When we think about praising God, we often limit praise to a worship service or singing. As Ron Allen points out in his book called And I will Praise Him, we may need a broader view of what praise is. Allen points out that biblical praise is made up of at least 2 key things. These 2 things are that praise has to be vocal, and it has to public. Speaking to others about God is praising God and this is a great way to carry Christ’s love to others. The following passages of scripture express this.

Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Psalm 34
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

All of these passages are not limited to singing to God with music in worship, but also include openly talking about God as an ongoing part of life. Praising God involves more than singing to God. It involves letting your life sing and promote His name alone as the center of life. The following song by Matt Redman expresses this kind of praise.

One Name Alone 

Everybody praises the thing they love
Everyone announces what they adore
Where you lay your treasure there is your heart
There is Your heart there you find your heart

Everybody’s singing a song inside
Bowing down low with a sacrifice
We speak many words but our hearts we show
By what we’re spending our lives upon

One name alone I am living for
One name my heart and my soul adore
Be the first and the last
Be the song that I sing
Jesus be my everything

Let it be seen in this life now
If anyone should look my way at all
This I prize and treasure most
You my God and You alone
Well it’s You my God and only You

One name alone I am living for
One name my heart and my soul adore
Be the first and the last
Be the song that I sing
Jesus be my everything