And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

"It’s hard to show my faith in front of people.
I’m guilty of trying to hide when I pray, especially before I eat, and even not praying at all…

Fear is what keeps us from God, fear of what others might think of us. But do their thoughts really matter? We shouldn’t be afraid of them, “But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell.” (Luke 12:5) - BUT! “We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear,” (Luke 1:74). It’s hard sometimes when we’re around people who don’t share the same faith, who plainly don’t pray but are religious, or who are losing faith, but of course not nearly as difficult as what God had to sacrifice for us. Never forget that God sacrificed His only son for us. The very least we all can do is pray and show our faith. It will make God very happy :) In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are taught to pray without ceasing, continually, throughout our day. Praying is not just a way of telling God our wants and dreams or what our problems are, because He knows us more than we do, but simply showing God that we need Him and it deepens our relationship with Him. We shouldn’t feel awkward praying in front of our friends and family because they love us, therefore respecting our beliefs… or else they wouldn’t really be our friends. If anything, pray together because, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there shall I be.” (Matthew 18:20)… We shouldn’t feel awkward praying in public because they don’t matter in our lives. John tells us that “all that is in this world, is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.” So, as long as we are in this world, we will be tempted and judged by things and people. No one is perfect, however, we must not fall into sin as a result of these temptations. God is the only Judge, who also saves and forgives. Praying is a way of praising God, so, “get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:46) and
1Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:1-6)

In Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible…
We are here stirred up to praise God. Praise God for his sanctuary, and the privileges we enjoy by having it among us; praise him because of his power and glory in the firmament. Those who praise the Lord in heaven, behold displays of his power and glory which we cannot now conceive. But the greatest of all his mighty acts is known in his earthly sanctuary. The holiness and the love of our God are more displayed in man’s redemption, than in all his other works. Let us praise our God and Saviour for it. We need not care to know what instruments of music are mentioned. Hereby is meant that in serving God we should spare no cost or pains. Praise God with strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with entire confidence in Christ; praise him with believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him by universal respect to all his commands; praise him by cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love, and comforting ourselves in his goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. Since we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord; then we shall breathe our last with comfort. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Such is the very suitable end of a book inspired by the Spirit of God, written for the work of praise; a book which has supplied the songs of the church for more than three thousand years; a book which is quoted more frequently than any other by Christ and his apostles; a book which presents the loftiest ideas of God and his government, which is fitted to every state of human life, which sets forth every state of religious experience, and which bears simple and clear marks of its Divine origin."

-Victoria Truong (ilikesmalleyes)