It’s said that if you want to speak a language fluently like a native, you have to learn it before the age of seven. Languages learnt after this age can be mastered, but there will never be the same accent that enables us to pass as a native. Just recently I was listening to a video of nursery rhymes with my granddaughter and the singer, although fluent in English, was distinctively not a native speaker. I still can’t pinpoint what it was in her pronunciation that makes me say that, but I know that English is not her native language.

All of us need to learn the language of praise, and the sooner we do this in our Christian lives, the more chance there is that we will speak this language fluently, with no accent. The language of praise allows us to praise God in all circumstances because we see life from His perspective, not ours. Ps 150 is an exuberant call to prise; in the psalms alone there are 182 references to praise.

The language of praise often involves singing and gladness (Ps 9:11, Ps 13:5, Ps 21:13), which is why our gathered worship always involves song. Praise is the rightful response of the heart and will to the character and actions of God. The more we meditate, the more occasion we will have to decalre His praise aloud.

God wants us to be continually learning this language of praise and bringing Him the sacrifice of praise. (Heb 13:15) When we first start learning a language, its sounds are unfamiliar to us and we can feel very self-conscious about our utterances, but as we grow in confidence, we learn to declare the praises of our God and Saviour enthusiastically and energetically, for He alone is worthy of all praise.