A gospel musician, Minister GUC (audio here) sang …

“???? I’ll put You in front
 In front of my melody
You are all that matters
You are all that matters
I’ll make room for two
You and I Jesus
You are all that matters
You are all that matters….”

Sincerely speaking, I love the song; in fact, I sing it a lot. But one day, it dawned on me, or should I say I was inspired to sing it a different way:

“???? I’ll put You in front
In front of me everything
You are all that matters
You are all that matters
I’ll make room for You
You alone Jesus
You are all that matters
You are all that matters….”

Interestingly, my edit didn’t change the chord progression at all ☺.

I am in no way against the original lyrics, nor am I criticizing the artist. Instead, I gained a new inspiration and meaning from the song, which makes me love and want to sing it even more. That’s the essence of singing with understanding!

Whenever we praise God, we shouldn’t praise Him casually – we need to sing praises to God from a place of deep knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He is doing. 

This can only happen when we are intentional about it.

Psalms 47:7 KJV. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

If we were made to praise God, then we must do it acceptably. We don’t praise God to entertain ourselves; rather, we praise in reverence and honor to God. Believe me, that is the way to minister unto God. 

"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted..." (Acts 13:2 KJV)

Ministering to the LORD means to draw near to Him and give Him our very best praise, worship, and devotion.

Back to the song I love singing:

“???? I’ll put You in front
 In front of me everything 
You are all that matters
You are all that matters
I’ll make room for You
You alone Jesus
You are all that matters
You are all that matters….”

The understanding I caught from the song is that God must be in front of everything that pertains to me.

He must be my first and only option.

His will must override my will.

It should be “God going ahead of me”. Isaiah 45:2-3

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to put God first by trusting Him wholeheartedly and allowing Him to take the lead (leaning not on our strength); then, we can be sure of His divine guidance and provision.

Putting God first also means making room alone for Jesus to rule in our hearts. He must be at the center of your will.

I believe if you start rendering praises to God with understanding, you will begin to get more insight and inspiration, which will ultimately engender you to know God more, taste His love, and love Him more.

Why We Need to Offer Praise with Understanding 

Understand that God created us to serve, praise, and worship Him alone. Along the line, the devil polluted the mind of man by offering sin. Sin became something huge in the heart of man. 

One of the devil’s tactics is to blind the eyes of believers so they see reasons not to praise God, but rather complain about the blessings they haven’t received.

God does not want you to render casual praise to Him (i.e., praise with just our lips rather than our heartfelt praise). He wants us to come to His knowledge (Isaiah 29:13).

Our encounter with Jesus will surely determine the quality of our praise. So, why do we need to offer praise with understanding?

1. It’s a command. (Psalm 47:7 KJV).
2. Praising with understanding helps us to secure His presence. (Psalm 100:4)
3. We have been called to praise (1 Peter 2:9)

How to Praise With Understanding 

1. Worship God in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23-24).
2. Praise must come from the heart. And it must be done repeatedly.
3. Meditate on God’s mighty deeds. (Psalm 77:12).
4. Rejoice in the Lord always. (Philippians 4:4-7).

Conclusion

Praise is a must for every believer, and it must be done deliberately. Don’t wait for someone to gear you up before you see reasons to praise God. Praising God with understanding helps us to have personal revelation about God which will help us live to please Him.

SHALOM!

Stay Blessed!