The Power of Praising
Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, but at midnight they began to sing. Perhaps it took them until midnight to overcome discouragement. But once they began praising and singing, God delivered them.
When Jonah's disobedience landed him inside the great fish God had provided to catch him, he began to pray. Amazingly, he found reason to praise while still in that fish. And when his prayer turned to praise, deliverance came:
"'But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.' And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 1:9, 10).
The more desperate our situation, the more it "calls for songs of loudest praise." Praising prepares the way for God to show Himself in our situation. If we truly praise, God will fulfill His promise in Psalm 50:23: "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." Think of praising as preparing a path for God's salvation.
We praise God for what He has done, but it is a greater blessing to praise Him for what He is going to do. We know that "the Judge of all the earth [will] do right" (Genesis 18:25). Our worship then has nothing to do with our circumstances, but everything to do with who God is.
If we could hear from those who have gone before us and who have heaven's perspective, we would hear such excited exclamations as, "If you could only see as I do--how good God's plans are!--how faithful He is!--you would give praise!" Let's borrow heaven's perspective, for as the hymnist wrote, "Praise is His gracious choice."
Dear Lord, help me to remember that there are battles I need to fight with praise.
"Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us" (Psalm 67:5, 6 KJV).
When Jonah's disobedience landed him inside the great fish God had provided to catch him, he began to pray. Amazingly, he found reason to praise while still in that fish. And when his prayer turned to praise, deliverance came:
"'But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.' And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 1:9, 10).
The more desperate our situation, the more it "calls for songs of loudest praise." Praising prepares the way for God to show Himself in our situation. If we truly praise, God will fulfill His promise in Psalm 50:23: "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." Think of praising as preparing a path for God's salvation.
We praise God for what He has done, but it is a greater blessing to praise Him for what He is going to do. We know that "the Judge of all the earth [will] do right" (Genesis 18:25). Our worship then has nothing to do with our circumstances, but everything to do with who God is.
If we could hear from those who have gone before us and who have heaven's perspective, we would hear such excited exclamations as, "If you could only see as I do--how good God's plans are!--how faithful He is!--you would give praise!" Let's borrow heaven's perspective, for as the hymnist wrote, "Praise is His gracious choice."
Dear Lord, help me to remember that there are battles I need to fight with praise.
"Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us" (Psalm 67:5, 6 KJV).
Wesley Duewel said...
The more you praise God, the more you become God-conscious and absorbed in His greatness, wisdom, faithfulness, and love. Praise reminds you of all that God is able to do and of great things He has already done.
