Thanking ... Praising ... Worshipping...

   "Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every

    circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving,

    continue to make your [specific] requests known to God." 

    [Philippians 4: 6-7, AMP]

So... how do we DO this? How do we 'put' everything by petition WITH thanksgiving CONTINUE...? Read on in Philippians 4

   "Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of

    respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and

    wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of

    good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,

    think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them

    in your heart]. The things which you have learned and received and heard and

    seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the

    source] of peace and well-being will be with you." [v. 8-9]

   '...But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this

    is what defiles and dishonors the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts

    and plans, ..." [Matthew 15L18-19] 

All these verse are the basis for thinking about thanking, praising, worshipping... and the opposite. You do see that it is WE who do this. Let's look at each of these words.

Thanking:

First, a question. WHY do we thank God? Basically, what's our motivation? Do we thank Him in advance? for...? Is this an attempt to influence Him to do what we want? That's not what thanking is all about. Sometimes, it IS thanking the Lord for all He's done and acknowledging this. I think that sometimes we dash off a 'thanks' without much thought. Shouldn't do this. 

I read, "Would it surprise you to learn that THANKFULNESS is mentioned 73 times in the New Testament? 20 in the Gospels?" 73 times in the New Testament is really not much, especially since Genesis does this 20 times alone. My only conclusion is that we really aren't a very grateful creation and when we consider all that He's done and is continuing to do for us... that's shameful. And when we do thank Him... how do we express our thanks... with a grateful heart? And I would suspect we have something to be grateful for... daily.

Praising: 

Have you ever considered that praising the Lord, corporately, is part of your witness to others? It is. It's how you speak of the Lord to/with others. 

Simple example: when you were very young did you ever say to any of your mates: 'my Dad can do (fill in the blank) better than your Dad'? Maybe that's a different generational thing, I just know this happened when I was young. It was a way of setting your Dad apart from all the Dads and praising him to others. Question: do we do this about our Lord to others? For that matter, do we do this to Him in our words, in our prayers?

Personally, I like the use of the word, ‘praises’. I’ve seen far too many prayer meetings that only focus on needs, petitions, wants and praise gets lost. So, what should our corporate prayer meetings ‘look like’? When the time is over, how do and how should you feel? What is it you want from these times? Does it begin with understanding the Philippians’ scripture that talks about in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with     thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known…?

Worshipping:  

To me, worshipping is in a category all to itself. It's the 'entering into the holy of holies', it's where God lives. It's a difficult 'place' to describe and yet... once experienced one always wants to return.

The best 'voice' to express worship is the scriptures - these verses tell us the how, the what not's, the what's when it comes to our worship. 

   "But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship

    the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father

    seeks such people to be His worshipers." [John 4:23. AMP]

    "Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present

    your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy

    and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of

    worship." [Romans 12:1]

    "And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial

    values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you

    mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and

    ethical attitudes], so that you prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is,

    that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for

    you]."  [verse 2]

Is one - thanking, praising, worshipping - more important than the other? My answer would be no (even though I lean toward worshipping). Gratitude is critical in the qualities we display. Praising is our 'bragging on the Lord' and so we should do - because He has and continues to do great things. And Worship... it is indispensable because that's being in His presence. ALL should have a place in our daily mindset and expressions.