Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Hebrews 13:15

We often interpret the “sacrifice of praise,” mentioned in the verse for today, to mean nothing more than praising God when we do not feel like praising Him, and that can certainly be a type of sacrifice. But, I believe the writer of Hebrews is actually making reference to the Old Testament sacrificial system that required the blood of animals to atone for people’s sins.

We, however, live in New Testament times, when we no longer need to put slain sheep and goats and bulls on an altar. Instead, the sacrifice—the offering—God wants from us today is to hear right words coming out of our mouths. Just as the smoke and the aroma of the animal sacrifices went up before His throne under the Old Covenant, the praise from our hearts rises up as a sacrifice before Him today. In Hebrews 13:15, the Lord was really saying, “The sacrifice I want now is the fruit of your lips thankfully acknowledging Me.”

We need to apply this scripture to our everyday lives, making sure we speak God’s praises every chance we get. We need to tell people about all the great things He’s doing for us; we need to thank Him and tell Him we love Him. In our hearts and with our mouths, we should say continually, “Lord, I love You. Thank You so much for everything You’re doing in my life. Lord, I praise You for taking care of everything that concerns me today.” We need to be people of praise, acknowledging God “constantly and at all times,” continually offering up to Him the sacrifice of praise.