If God Is Infinite, Why Praise Him?
If God is infinite, then every word we use to describe Him falls short.
No matter how beautiful our prayers may be, no matter how many praises we offer, we can never fully capture who God is. God is infinitely greater than anything we could ever think, say, or imagine.
That creates an obvious question.
If God doesn’t need our praise, and if our words can never truly describe Him, why is praise such a central part of prayer?
Praise Is Not for God’s Sake
The answer is that praise is not really for God’s sake. It is for our sake.
When we praise someone, we are expressing admiration. We recognize qualities that we value and appreciate. More than that, we often aspire to become like the people we admire.
The same idea applies when we praise God.
When we speak about God’s kindness, we are reminding ourselves about the importance of kindness. When we speak about God’s compassion, we are reminding ourselves of the importance of compassion. When we speak about God’s goodness, patience, and generosity, we are identifying qualities that we want to bring into our own lives.
The purpose of praise is not to inform God about who He is. The purpose of praise is to remind us who we should strive to become.
Can We Really Describe God?
The praises we offer are not a complete theological description of God.
They cannot be.
Human beings are limited, and every word we use is filtered through our own understanding and experience. We do not speak about God as He is in Himself. We speak about God in ways that are meaningful and relevant to us.
That is why Judaism is not interested in abstract speculation about God that has no practical impact on life.
If our ideas about God do not help us become better people, then they serve very little purpose.
What Is the Purpose of Prayer?
Many people think of prayer as a time to talk about God.
But perhaps prayer is really about transformation.
Prayer should help us become more aware of the values we want to live by. It should challenge us to become more compassionate, more generous, more patient, and more loving.
The praises found throughout prayer are not random descriptions. They are a vision of what goodness looks like.
Each praise points us toward a higher standard.
Each praise reminds us of the kind of person we are capable of becoming.
Becoming a Channel for Goodness
When praise remains disconnected from life, it loses its purpose.
If we speak lofty words about kindness but do not become kinder, something is missing. If we praise compassion but fail to show compassion to others, then our words remain empty.
The goal is not simply to speak about God’s goodness.
The goal is to become a living channel for God’s goodness.
The goal is not simply to talk about God’s kindness.
The goal is to bring more kindness into the world.
The Real Question
The real question is not whether our words can fully describe God.
They can’t.
The real question is whether those words are changing us.
When we praise God, we are not giving Him something that He lacks. We are reminding ourselves of the qualities we admire most and the qualities we want to embody.
Perhaps that is why praise plays such a central role in prayer.
Not because God needs our praise.
Because we need the reminder.