Song
I Just Want to Praise You
© New Glory International
Behind the song
The story behind I Just Want to Praise You
Written by
Arthur Tannous
Terry MacAlmon context
Included in Terry's live worship repertoire and associated with the For the Bride season
I Just Want to Praise You, written by Arthur Tannous, is built around one uncomplicated desire: to praise God, lift the hands, express love and exalt His name. That directness is exactly what has made the song valuable in Terry MacAlmon's worship ministry. It does not require a complicated explanation before a congregation can enter in. The song says what the heart wants to do and invites the whole room to do it together.
Terry has often spoken about worship songs becoming too word-heavy or musically difficult for ordinary people to sing. His concern is not artistic simplicity for its own sake. It is participation. When the platform becomes more impressive but the congregation becomes less involved, something essential has been lost. I Just Want to Praise You moves in the opposite direction. Its simplicity opens the door.
The song also fits naturally with the imagery Terry used around For the Bride. Worship is the response of the Bride of Christ to Jesus, the Bridegroom. The focus is not performance but affection. In that setting, the words become more than a praise chorus. They become the language of love.
For Terry, songs like this are useful because they can carry a congregation beyond the song itself. Once everyone is singing the same simple declaration, there is room for spontaneous worship, prayer, silence or a deeper response. The song becomes a beginning rather than a destination - a vehicle that helps people turn their hearts toward Jesus and stay there.
Watch
I Just Want to Praise You
Official Terry MacAlmon YouTube channel
For the Bride was formed from worship moments recorded during the Pikes Peak Worship Festivals of 2005 and 2006. Terry MacAlmon chose the title because the album captures the Bride of Christ doing what she was created to do: offering praise and worship to Jesus. That picture gives the project both its name and its direction.
Let All the People Worship begins with a broad invitation, followed by Prepare the Way and Jesus, Name Above All Names. From there the album moves freely between written songs, spiritual songs and instrumental worship interludes. That flow reflects what happened in Terry's live gatherings. A planned song could become the doorway into an unplanned moment, and the worship was allowed to continue without being forced back into a rigid set list.
We Were Made to Worship expresses the heart of the entire project. More Than Ever Before, We Fall Down and I Just Want to Praise You move deeper into devotion, while Exalt the Lord Our God and Agnus Dei lift the worship toward God's greatness and holiness. How Great Is Our God adds a song being sung across the wider Church, allowing thousands of worshipers around the world to recognize the same language of praise. I Will Never Let Go brings the album to a personal and intimate close.
For the Bride is not centered on the worship leader. Its focus is the people of God turning toward Christ together. The live setting, the spontaneous moments and the familiar songs all serve that one picture: the Bride offering her love, surrender and praise to the Bridegroom. It is one of Terry's clearest recordings of corporate worship becoming a shared act of devotion.