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By R.A. Mathews

It happened while she was on the phone with customer service. Mary’s cat suddenly ran and hid under her bed, while her little dog jumped beside her, licking her face and demanding attention.

“Just a second, baby,” she whispered, rubbing the dog’s head and eyeing the cat’s path, wondering what was wrong. 

“I thought maybe a storm was coming,” she told me. 

Mary kept trying to straighten out a wrongful billing with a man she couldn’t understand. “I canceled that subscription!” she shouted.

The dog became even more insistent to be loved, licking and pawing and nuzzling her.

“I yelled at him again,” Mary told me, “And my dog became more insistent. That’s when I realized there was no one in that room except the three of us — my pets thought I was shouting at them.”

“Immediately,” Mary told me, “I spoke softly to the man. The cat soon returned, and the dog settled comfortably beside me.”

“It was disrespectful,” Mary continued. “I regret speaking that way.”

This is a present-day problem for many. When you call Apple, their recording says to be kind to their customer service people. Apple has wonderful customer service, by the way.

Mary said she remembered my column about David and the Psalms, how he sang to the Lord. David wrote, “Seven times a day I praise You… ” (Psalm 119:164, NASB).

In fact, the Psalms are not so much a book as an I-Pod. They’re the songs he lifted to God. Look at the first verses of Psalm 119 and sing them:

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, 

Who walk in the Law of the Lord.

Blessed are those who comply with His testimonies,

And seek Him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:1-2, NASB).

See, with music it has a very different impact.

So, when did David start praising the Lord seven times a day? Was it during his stressful days as an army commander or his years as a shepherd boy? David makes a point to say his young life hadn’t been one surrounded by the peaceful bleating of lambs. Rather, he rescued sheep from the mouths of lions and bears (1 Samuel 18:5-7; 17:34-36, NASB).

Rough work!

We don’t know when David began his practice of praise, but we do know he was a musician for King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14-23).

You may be thinking that you can’t praise God seven times a day — you have a job, children. But how did David do it?

Can you imagine? 

He wasn’t just a shepherd, a musician, and a general. Remember that David was then a fugitive running for his life. “Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to put David to death” (1 Samuel 19:1, NASB). 

David fled, 400 men joined him, and he became their captain. Believe me, that was an even rougher time (1 Samuel 19-30). 

After King Saul died, David didn’t finally have rest. He fought a civil war with Saul’s son for years (2 Samuel 1-4).

Once that war ended, David had Israel’s enemies to defeat and then a nation to lead. So, how did he make it work?

Did David leave battle or meetings with his military commanders to praise God? If his troops were marching along, did he take a time out and retire somewhere to sing? What about when he was living in his palace?

How did David make it work?

How would you have advised David? To praise God alongside those soldiers and sing with all in the palace? If you had been in charge, wouldn’t that have been your practice?

It still can be. 

You can lead your family, your employees, your boss in a song of praise. 

Honestly, this was not an easy change for me. I slip into “a flow” when I write and lose all track of time and place. I always felt like it was a gift from God. When my phone would sound, calling me to praise, I turned it off. Staying in that flow was more important. 

But the Lord showed me that I was wrong. Each time I praised Him and also said the Lord’s prayer, it was a shot of power and guidance. True.

It gets better.

We all have ways we disappoint the Lord — lying, anger, selfishness. The list of vices goes on and on. 

“I didn’t think I could ever become patient,” Mary said. “Now, by the time I get full of hot air, my phone comes on and calls me to praise. It’s like sticking a pin in a balloon—in a good way!” 

David’s seven times of praise and the early church’s commitment to the Lord’s Prayer will change you. You’ll wake up singing, go to bed singing, sing in your sleep. Your drawn face and wrinkles will soften. You will accomplish what you long for. 

You will find joy. 

Contact the Rev. Mathews and see her biography and books at R.A. Mathews.com. Copyright © 2025 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.