My Friend James: Sing Praises

A great deal of the remaining verses of James 5 have to do with faithful prayer, especially for the sick. We’ll get to that next week. Today, I want to focus on this little admonition in James 5:13.

James 5:13 [NLT] Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

We do pray for the sick – a lot. Like me, you probably get prayer requests via email, from announcements at church, off posts on Facebook, and directly from friends and family. Maybe, like me, you have a prayer group that texts each other asking for prayer. You may even have special prayer time at church, where you give prayers for those suffering all types of trials.

Since James devotes six verses in James 5 to praying for the sick, we know it is important. But, equally important is the latter part of verse 13: “Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.”

James was not just offering a cool suggestion. We are told that praising God is a sacrifice we should participate in regularly. Hebrews 13:15 [NKJV] Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of [our] lips, giving thanks to His name.

Why? Because Hebrews 13:15 starts with “therefore” we know that the verses ahead of this give us the “why?” we are seeking.

Hebrews 13:10-14 [NLT] talks about Jesus being our better sacrifice and having been sacrificed outside the camp. It says we should go outside the camp to meet Him and then, verse 14, tells us, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”

We should offer the sacrifice of praise because (1) Jesus is our sacrifice for sin and (2) This world is not our home. Many praise songs do offer gratitude for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and tell of our joy in knowing that there is a better world coming, where there are none of the wars, pain, evil and suffering we must endure in this life.

But praise time is not just for church services. Hebrews tells us to offer “a continual sacrifice of praise to God”. [NLT] Great times for praise are when you garden or take a walk, clean house or drive to work, or any time you see the beauty of nature, or feel appreciative for a new day.

And may I suggest that you put your heart into it? I am often on stage at church, playing some percussion instrument during the song service and I am appalled at the demeanor and facial expressions of those in the congregation. Many of them look more like they are angry, or just ate a lemon, rather than being in the act of praising God. I realize that not all congregational songs are truly praise songs. A few are laments. But I am talking about the ones that no one can dispute as being intended for praise.

Hebrews 13:15 [NKJV] Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of [our] lips, giving thanks to His name.

And even if your church only uses traditional songs (no praise music), those songs and our signing are meant to declare the glory of God, to praise Him and to connect us to one another.

If a church frowns on lifting up hands or repetition in praise songs, we typically respect that and don’t push the envelope. Don’t we? But how you sing and praise at home is exclusively between you and God. Nobody else’s business.

As someone who loves to sing but can’t “carry a tune in a bucket”, I do a lot of lip-synching at church when I am in a crowd. Not always, but often. I usually am either playing congas or have a tambourine or shaker in my hands, so lifting up my hands in worship isn’t an option, even if my church approved it.

However, in my car, in my home, in my garden and on long walks, I crank up the tunes and belt out the praise songs that I love, lifting up my hands (See Psalm 63:4) and even dancing when I feel moved to do so. David danced before God enthusiastically (See 2 Samuel 6:14), so I feel I am on solid ground with this.

I am partial to music by Tribl and Upper Room, which I follow on YouTube. If you look them up, I must warn you that there is repetition, lifting of hands, emotional displays and even dancing in some videos. If that is not your thing, I understand.  I also have a Christian playlist on my phone by Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, Matthew West and others.

What are your favorites songs or groups? Please share in the comments here on via Facebook or LinkedIn.

Whatever music moves you, from traditional hymns to modern praise, our friend, James is clear: If you are happy, you should sing!

Thank you for continuing to join me in the study of the book written by my friend James. As we wrap this up, please let me know where you think we should go next.

You can write me any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org or leave a message in the chat.