Pure Praise

I am blessed every time I see a child worshiping and praising God. They aren't doing it for show, they are opening their heart towards God and praising Him. It is a beautiful thing. Oftentimes, while I am leading a song service or an after service, I will see a child who is unashamedly praising God and it always thrills my soul. This is pure praise, praise that honors God and pleases Him. 

The Bible tells us in Matthew 18:3 that "...unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." In other words we'll not see heaven if we don't become like little children. But what are children like? Well, to begin with, children are trusting. We need to "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) He knows better than we do. He had a plan for your life before you were even born. Isn't that just amazing? Trust Him to do what is good for you. He has promised in His Word that He would take care of you always if you trust in Him.

Secondly, children are innocent. They haven't learned the art of wearing a mask to hide   their true feelings. They are uncorrupted by the world. James knew that we had to be on our guard when he said "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27) We are daily bombarded with the filth of the world, yet we have to live in this world so what do we do? We need to shift our focus from the things of this world onto the things of God. We need to guard our hearts and our minds from anything that is not pleasing to God. Philippians 4:8 is a good guideline to follow to help you remain untarnished by the world. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." 

Thirdly, children are humble. They haven't yet fallen into the pit of pride and arrogance. They haven't been given any titles to live up to and so they are not self-absorbed. Jesus said in Matthew 18:4  that "whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." When a child wants to know something, they run to the nearest adult to find out the answer to their question. They are humble enough to understand that they don't know it all, as we should be too. When we have a question that needs answering, we need to run to our Father and ask for His guidance. Then we need to be wise enough to follow His instruction.

A child will believe what you tell them. It is that simple childlike faith that results in miracles. God, Himself, said that we need to be like little children, pure and undefiled. Children also learn by watching the adults in their world. Our children need to see us praising the Lord and praying and singing songs of praise to our Father and when they do they will do the same with a pure heart. 

A Pure Heart--Hillsong

A pure heart, that's what I long for.
A heart that follows hard after Thee;
A pure heart, that's what I long for.
A heart that follows hard after Thee.


VERSE:
A heart that hides Your Word
So that sin will not come in.
A heart that's undivided
But one You rule and reign;
A heart that beats compassion,
That pleases You, my Lord.
A sweet aroma of worship
That rises to Your throne.