A new song for a new day rises up in me every time I think about how he breaks through for me! Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until everyone hears how God has set me free. Many will see his miracles; they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
Psalms 40:3 TPT
My family love all kinds of music, considering how diverse our interests are, but nothing does it for us like a good praise song. On countless occasions, the whole household has been turned into a church service with everyone singing, shouting and dancing. There’s something about a praise song that draws you in and keep your feet moving to the tune of the song. Praise songs don’t just capture you with the tune, but with the words of truth declaring the goodness of God by the Holy Spirit. Praise and worship experience does not happen only in church gatherings; as much as I love corporate worship, I can look back on the number of times we have had such an awesome time praising God at home or on our way to church and the church service just felt like a top-up of what we already had going on in us.
On the contrary, there are other times when we are immersed in the throes of life, and the last thing we want to do is praise God. Well, I must admit, I have been there on more occasions than I would like. Sometimes life throws you into challenging situations you would rather not want to be in, and all you see are the unclimbable mountains around you. In these moments, prayer and praise are so hard to engage in, and all we want is for the problems to go away so we can enjoy the rest we are in desperate need of. There have been seasons in my life when I have not had the strength and faith to pray or sing, but hearing a song play in my house, did all the work in me. God likes to come into our muddy and mucky day and pour Himself on us right in the middle of whatever we are going through.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:6-7 MSG
A few weeks ago, I faced some challenging health issues, and so day by day, I just shuffled around and looked forward to the end of the week. It was interesting, though, that sometime during the week, I got a word about how God fills us with praise, but with everything going on with my life, my spirit couldn’t fully grasp this message. Towards the end of the working week, when all I wanted was for the day to finish quickly so I could get some rest, a song popped up on my YouTube playlist and caught my full attention. Suddenly, God changed me from the woman who couldn’t wait for her week to end to a woman full of praise and adoration to the Lord, coupled with a renewed strength and fervour. This could only have come from the Spirit of God; this empowerment was so fierce that it changed the whole atmosphere in my home.
Praise is a weapon that has proven powerful in my life in so many ways, and God wants to remind you of the artillery you have in your possession. I am reminded of King Jehoshaphat’s victory in 2 Chronicles 20:20-22,
So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
Praising God is an effective way for God to be a part of our lives as we focus all our attention on Him. When our hearts magnify our God and King, our issues are marginalised, and they become insignificant compared to our God. In reality, God is bigger than anything we will ever face, but when our problems blind our vision, all we see are the problems. Still, once we allow our spirits to open our peripheral vision, we see the full picture, where God is in control, and He is in charge of everything going on in our lives.
There’s a story in the Bible about when the Syrian army surrounded prophet Elisha with their chariots and horses. The sight of this alone should have been enough for Elisha to surrender and be terrified like his servant. But Elisha had an insight that his servant was blinded to; he could see a larger army that had surrounded the hillside with fire. It is no surprise that Elisha prayed for the army to go blind (2 Kings 6:16).
Blindness places a form of limitation on us that restrict us, and a life encumbered with worries and fears can make you feel blind to the power available to you. As you surrender whatever is holding you to God through praises, your vision widens, and you will see God for who He truly is. His power is so strong to sustain you and give you a way out of whatever you face. I want to encourage you to daily change your lenses so you can see your big and mighty God right. I wear glasses that enables me to see clearly and for that to happen, I have to wipe the lenses so often. In the same way, praise and adoration to the Lord give us a fresh vision of the greatness of our God. What do you think will happen if I decide not to clean my lens regularly? Think about it 🤔… Let God into your space and let him take over and bring you victory in whatever battle you are facing.
In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
Isaiah 12:4-6 NLT
No matter the phase of life you are in, let your constant praise reach out to God just like the Psalmist say in Psalm 150:6, Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord! When you have praised God and powerfully encountered Him, your story will be a blessing to somebody else. The more we tell others about the goodness of God, the more our Father is glorified in this world. Put on your garment of praise, raise your hands and join in with a song or dance. Burst out in praise! Burst out in worship! Thank the Lord! Praise His Name!
May you be filled with the Fullness of God and the Power of His Love!
Good morning I have read the piece over and over again. I have learnt another leason .Thanks for sharing. God Bless you and your family May Almighty God Face shine upon you and give peace for to bring us more lesson
Thanks Dad, so good to hear you were blessed. Thank you for being a blessing to our generation and a role model for us to follow. God bless you.
I’m so blessed by this! I am a praise and worship person and it’s so heart fulfilling when you drown in a good praise and worship the prayers that follow is just beautiful and the connection with God is even deeper! Praise God
Thanks for sharing x
So good. Praise and worship is like when you meet someone you introduce yourself or break the ice before talking about what you really need to talk about. Thank you.
“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (Psalm 104:33). The beauty of knowing Christ through reading the word is that, although to us he may seem so far away, Roman 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”
Want to share this little message…
“If you have ever been through crisis, Maybe you’re going through one now. You need to read John 11 about how to hang on in times of crisis. When Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus is critically ill,he doesn’t run to heal him, but stays for 2 days before leaving. When Jesus arrived in Bethany, home of Lazarus, He learns that Lazarus died 4 days earlier. God is never early, never late, but always on time. Our timing isn’t God’s timing. For us, God’s timing often feels like a long, desperate delay. God’s perfect timing grows our faith as we are forced to wait and trust in God and it makes certain that He, and He alone, gets the glory and praise for pulling us through. At the right time, God will provide our needs. At the right time, God will deliver us. At the right time, God will rescue us. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.God is the great “I AM” (Yahweh) who knows the past, present and future. If I were Jesus, I would’ve healed Lazarus right away. But Jesus wanted to stretch the faith of His disciples. They knew he had the power to heal people — but to raise a 4 day old corpse? Come on, that’s taking faith to a whole new level.” #copied
Thank you for your powerful encouragement that the Lord is not too early or too late. He knows us and loves us. He knows what we need before we even ask him. Such an awesome Father 🙂.