Experiencing the Power of Praise

Another going deeper from my study bible. Lord want me to share it here:

‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise’ (Psalm 100:4)

Praising God is not about singing praise songs in church once a week. Praise should be part of every moment of your life. Praise should be what you do in the car while on the way to work, to school, or to the store. It’s what you should have in your heart when you are in the mall, the airport, or the doctor’s office. It is what you do when the kitchen sink stops up, the car has a flat tire, you become sick, or you have lost your keys for the 40^th time.

It is what you speak fervently when you are in the emergency room, at a loved one’s burial, or in the middle of a tornado. Praise should be an on going attitude of the heart – an attitude that does not change, no matter what else in your life does.

This is not about some kind of positive thinking. This is not a plunge into denial that says, ‘This isn’t really happening’ or ‘I am going to pretend that I am not actually feeling this way.’ Instead, it means, ‘Don’t let yourself sink to the level of the problem; make yourself rise to the level of the solution.’

One of the secrets of experiencing the power of praise is to make a decision that you will worship God no matter what your circumstances. When you get to the place where praise comes automatically, no matter what is going on, you will come to know God more intimately. And when you do, you won’t be able to stop yourself from praising Him.

It’s easy to praise God when great things happen or when you see answers to your prayers, but what about when everything is going wrong? What is your first reaction to difficult or bad things that happen? If you blame others, yourself, or God, this only compounds the problem, leading to more distress, misery, and difficulty.

Instead, if you refuse to react to your problems in the flesh and move immediately into the realm of spirit of praising God, you will find that everything turns out differently. When you make your first reaction to what happens in your life a reaffirming praise to God for who He is, you invite His presence to inhabit the situation and His power to come and change things. This is the hidden power of praising God.

God wants you to exalt Him and not your problems. This doesn’t mean trying to convince yourself that your problems don’t exist. It means you are saying, ‘Although I have these problems, I know that You, Lord, are greater than they are. You are my heavenly Father. You are a Good God. In You is everything I need for my life, and I choose to exalt You above all.’

When you become convinced of the power of praise in every situation and understand all that is accomplished when you truly praise God, your life will be changed forever.

I agree fully what is written by the author, for this is what I am experiencing in my life. Praise the Almighty Lord, the name above all names, Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!