The Power of Thanksgiving: Towdah & the Sacrifice of Praise

Every worshipper wants to experience the power of the presence of God that is uniquely found within praise, but so many mistake the WHY of worship and wonder why they don’t experience the true power of praise.

The truth is, the presence of God that “dwells within the praises of His people” (Psalm 22:3) is not always immediately present in praise. Why? Because not everyone who comes into praise is actually worshipping the Lord. How do you know if you’re really praising the Lord!?

The Bible is clear that praise and worship – at the core – are about ministry to the Lord. But how do you minister to the Lord or give something to Him of any real value when there isn’t anything you have to give that He needs?

In Psalm 50:12-13 (MEV), the Lord spoke saying:

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”

While there isn’t anything that any person has that God would ever need, there are many things that God desires, but it all starts with this one thing: YOU.

What Does God Really Want in Praise and Worship?

It isn’t accurate to say there is a “right” or “wrong” way to praise the Lord, but there is a Scriptural way. There is a God-defined way. There is a way of God’s due order and His desire. There is a spiritually effective way.

Ministry to the Lord is the most significant and fundamental aspect of true worship. Ministry to Him must be the “why” for every worshipper. Everything else is secondary. Four times in Exodus 28 when the Lord laid out the perimeters for the priesthood, He said the purpose of their clothing, their behavior, and their offerings was to, “Minister to Me.” 

Under the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant, the priests would offer up a physical sacrifice of praise to the Lord as an act of thanksgiving to Him. It wasn’t their idea – it was God’s. What God has expressed in His Word is an honor for His people to offer, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy… because no sacrifice wants to die.

The Priesthood and the Sacrifice of Praise

In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter wrote that all of God’s people were chosen to be a royal priesthood. Revelation 1:16 and 5:10 also note that the people of God are all made to be kings and priests. The purpose of the priesthood in the Bible was to minister to the Lord, and that is still the purpose of the priesthood of believers today.

The purpose of the priesthood in the Bible was to minister to the Lord, and that is still the purpose of the priesthood of believers today.

~Alicia Purdy

Paul wrote, “I urge you… by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship..”

When you put down your flesh, and lift up your hands, open your mouth, bend your knees, shout, sing, dance and play music to the Lord, and you defy your feelings, forget what everyone else is thinking, operate in faith, and praise the Lord with thanksgiving in spite of anything else going on, you are creating a spiritual environment through your sacrifice of praise in which His presence is welcome to move freely in you, through you, for you, before you, behind you, and out from you.

Think about this: If you are offering something to the Lord in your praise that doesn’t truly cost you something in your flesh, it’s not really a true sacrifice.

If you are offering something to the Lord in your praise that doesn’t truly cost you something in your flesh, it’s not really a true sacrifice.

~Alicia Purdy~

In Psalm 50 the Lord said, “Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High… Whoever sacrifices a thank offering glorifies Me and makes a way; I will show him the salvation of God.” (v. 14 & 23)

Towdah & the Sacrifice of Praise

In the Hebrew, the word “Towdah” is one of the seven Hebrew words for “praise” that is most frequently translated as a “thank offering”, or “thanksgiving”, but more specifically, “Towdah” is used in the context of the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Like many aspects of the the Old Covenant, what was once a physical act with a spiritual expression has become a spiritual act with a physical expression under the New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

The sacrifice of praise is what the Bible says opens the gates to His presence. (Psalm 100:4) Of course He is with you wherever you go, but there is a different dynamic of His power that is engaged when you create a spiritual atmosphere through “Towdah” – the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Bible Versus About Thanksgiving Praise – “Todwah”

• Psalm 107:22, “…and let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving (TOWDAH), and declare His words with rejoicing.”
• Nehemiah 12:27, “And at the dedication of the wall at Jerusalem, they sought the Levities out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings (TOWDAH) and with singing, cymbals, psalteries and harps.”
• 2 Chronicles 33:16, “And he repaired the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings (TOWDAH) on it and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.”
• Psalm 56: 12, “Your vows are upon me, O God; I will complete them with thank offerings (TOWDAH) to You.”
• Leviticus 22:29 says, “And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving (TOWDAH) unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.”
• Psalm 69:30, says, “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. (TOWDAH)”

No one should ever be forced or shamed into offering up praise and thanksgiving to God – that’s not really praise! You should never “praise” God out of routine or tradition – that’s not really a sacrifice!

The Lord loves to receive a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving from His people because He sent His Son as a sacrifice, so He understands what it costs.

Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!

God will always be faithful to minister to you in praise, (Genesis 22:17) but praising the Lord with the sacrifice of thanksgiving is ministry to HIM through that grateful and willing sacrifice of praise simply because He is worthy of praise.

When praise and worship are the last thing you feel like doing, that is when they are the most spiritually powerful – THAT is the sacrifice of praise!

The Importance of Giving Thanks to God

Your sacrifice of thanksgiving means something more profound to the Lord because your Father truly understands what it means to give up something matters, something that hurts- for the sake of your love- as He did for you.

Part of living a lifestyle of worship is incorporating thanksgiving and praise into everything you do. It means recognizing His hand at work, even in hard times, and offering up praise to Him, even when your “heart and flesh” fail you.

In Psalm 50:23 the Lord said, “Whoever sacrifices a thank offering  glorifies Me and makes a way; I will show him the salvation of God.”

“And it must be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, and you possess it, and dwell in it, that you shall take from the first of all the produce of the ground which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide [and you shall say] “I profess this day to the Lord your God that I have come into the land which the Lord promised to our fathers to give us.”… Now, indeed, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which you, O Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. You must rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you…” (Deuteronomy 26)

Offering Up the “First Fruits” of You

In the Old Testament, God’s people brought Him their “first fruits” as an act of “Towdah” praise and worship, an expression of thanksgiving and love, to offer back to Him a symbol of the blessings He had given. 

Deuteronomy 26 shows how and why God instituted the first fruit offering, which is a willing sacrifice, thanksgiving, praise and honor first to the Lord before you do anything else with what He has given you. The sacrifice of thanksgiving is part of a lifestyle of worship that will strengthen and support your faith by focusing your mind and spirit and heart on Him, first.

When you offer to the Lord the “first fruits” of you, you are giving Him what He truly desires- YOU! He wants more of you, but the Lord’s desire is that you offer it to Him, freely.

The sacrifice of thanksgiving is part of a lifestyle of worship that will strengthen and support your faith by focusing your mind and spirit and heart on Him, first.

~Alicia Purdy

Remember that a sacrifice of thanksgiving is just that: A sacrifice. A sacrifice costs you something that is hard to give away. In praise and worship, you deny yourself in order to put down your flesh and praise the Lord.

There are a lot of ways in which you can offer the Lord the “first fruits” of you, depending on what your life looks like, and all the “firsts” you have. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David said, “I will not offer up to the Lord burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

Thought for today: Thanksgiving is Thanks-Living

When it comes to spending time with the Lord, is no perfect time of day to spend with the Him because anytime, anywhere is the “perfect” time to stop and let Him know how grateful you are, that you appreciate what He’s done, that you love Him.

However, in the Bible, there are repeated instances of the poignant beauty of the early morning shown as being an especially profound time to open your spirit to Him. Why? Because, while your eternal spirit never sleeps, your human soul awakens to newness each day.

Even if some of yesterday’s troubles still exist, a new day represents another chance, another opportunity, a new grace, a renewed commitment to the Lord for that day. Meditate on these Scriptures as you prepare for your day:

• Psalm 5:3, “O Lord, in the morning You will hear my voice; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will watch expectantly.”
• Psalm 4:4, “Tremble in awe and do not sin. Commune with your own heart on your bed, and be still.”
• Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
• Psalm 143:8, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”
• Psalm 88:13, “…unto You have I cried, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.”
• Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love! Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days!”
• Psalm 149:5, “Let the godly ones be joyful in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.”
• Psalm 55:17, “Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud and He will hear my voice.”
• Psalm 42:8, “Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime… a prayer to the God of my life.”
• Psalm 57:7-8, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise! Awake, my glory! Awake, psaltery and harp! I will awake the dawn.”
• Psalm 59:16, “But I will sing of Your power; I will sing aloud of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my refuge and escape in the day of my trouble.”
• Psalm 119:147, “I arose before the dawn of the morning and cried for help; I hope in Your words.”
• Psalm 46:5, “God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved; God will help her in the early dawn.”
• Psalm 92:1-2, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises unto Your name, O Most High: to declare forth Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness in the night.”

Only the Lord knows what the day will bring, what news will arise, what situations will occur, but His Holy Spirit is with you to help you through every obstacle, every decision, every conflict, every confusion, every conversation, and every direction you go. So fix your eyes on Jesus, press into His power each day by lifting up your spirit in thanksgiving, your soul and your hands unto Him.

It doesn’t have to be fancy or long and drawn out. Five minutes. Two minutes. You don’t have to be on your knees or on your face. Lie in your bed and turn inward to the inner man in those first, quiet moments and commune with God before you continue forward.

Just for a moment, you and Him, each day, first, offer Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving, “Towdah”, but offering Him YOU.