Praise

Practice Persistent Praise

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Send up prayers of gratitude throughout every day.

It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? But it’s actually harder to do than you might think. With all the negativity that surrounds our everyday lives, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in a mindset of everything that’s going wrong, instead of thanking God for what’s going right in our lives.

I can’t take credit for the title for this blog post. I actually got the title from a Reel by dr.sherrispeaks. In the Reel, I believe she says she herself heard the concept from someone else. 

The fundamental idea is to give God constant praise for all the blessings He has placed in your life. Even in the worst of circumstances (even though you might have to look really hard), you can find something to thank God for. 

It could be something as simple as a parking spot close to the door, a break in the clouds so that a little sunshine hits your face and gives you a warm feeling, or just the simple chirping of an unseen bird going about its business.

If we continuously focus on all the good that we can find in our lives, there won’t be any room for the negative thoughts to creep in. 

And even if they do, we can quickly kick them out by thinking about another positive blessing or circumstance the Lord has given us. Read Philippians 4:8 for great ideas on how to do this.

I got the following idea from Joyce Meyer. It’s a great way to start your day—or at any point in the day when you need a little encouragement.

Say, “Something good is going to happen to me today. I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do in my life today!”

Then, for the first positive thing that happens in your life or positive thought that comes into your mind, thank God for it, truly being appreciative of all that He does for you.

That’s not even to mention the myriad of situations He works out or protects us from that we literally have no idea about. 

I shudder to think about how many bad things He has shielded me from or directed me to avoid without any real sense of the danger or darkness behind those situations.

We need to be just as grateful and give God just as much praise for these things as we do for all the many praise-worthy blessings we can count on any given day.

As long as we’re consistently grateful and thankful to God, we’ll experience much more joy and peace in our lives, no matter the chaos that’s going on around us.

Make it a Habit to Praise God

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we’re completely in control of our destiny.

After all, isn’t that what the American dream is all about — forging our own way in the world toward a life of success and easy living? This ideal has been ingrained in most of us since we were small children. 

In fact, if we’re not striving for success, then we may even think that there’s something wrong with us. We believe that “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.” 

Often, however, this belief can create unbelievable stress on us, leaving us with incredible guilt if we don’t live up to the expectations placed on us by ourselves and others.

However, when we foster these beliefs we completely leave God out of the equation. 

He is intensely concerned with every aspect of our lives and plays a huge role in the success of our daily activities. We would be remiss to ignore Him in this process.

God is at work 24/7 ensuring things work out for our best. 

All you have to do is read Romans 8:28 to understand that:

for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

In addition, we read in Psalms 95:2:

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

I believe that praising God and giving Him glory reinforces His role in our lives. When we give God the praise and glory He deserves, it allows us to see and experience that there’s something bigger than us. 

It realigns our mindset to rely on the God of the universe and not just ourselves and our own skills.

This realignment can lead to an awesome blessing in our lives. Acknowledging God as bigger and more powerful than we are takes a huge chunk of the responsibility of our success off our shoulders. 

Sure, we have to do our part. We must show up each day and

whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

Col. 3:23

But, ultimately we can relax about the outcome of our daily challenges, knowing in our hearts that our success rests with God. 

After all,

It is he who gives you power to get wealth.

Deut. 8:18a

And,

A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

John 3:27

Getting the proper spiritual alignment with God will also help ease any feelings of anxiety and depression.

Science has proven that adopting an attitude of gratefulness (for example, giving God praise for what He’s done for us) will help us feel better both emotionally and physically.

It’s really simple when we put everything in perspective — put the kingdom of God first in your life, and He will take care of everything else (Matt. 6:33).

Does God Inhabit Our Praise?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Does God make His home in our praises? It’s a very intriguing thought—that God is actually present when we are praising His name. 

Psalm 22:3 is the key verse that brings up this question. Various Bible translations have rendered this verse in different ways.

For example, the New International Version (NIV) translates it:

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.

The English Standard Version is one of several translations that makes the question a little more valid with its rendering:

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

You can almost picture God living in our praise. In fact, the ESV includes a footnote that says an alternative rendering is “dwelling in the praises.”

Then, there are translations that make it relatively easy to envision God living in our praise. The King James version, among others, renders this verse:

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

And that is where the question really comes into play for me.

Does this verse mean that God is actually present with us when we’re offering up praise?

Of course, God is always with us. He gives us that promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 and reiterates it in Hebrews 13:5.

But it is a whole other thing to imagine that God is physically present—real and alive—in our praises. That should give us comfort like nothing else can.

It’s like the famous line from Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” If we praise God, He will show up. That should give us something to think about.

No matter which translation you read from, and whether or not you believe that God actually lives in our praises, we should all practice praising Him more. 

He is certainly worthy of our praise, as He is our Creator and Heavenly Father who loves us immensely despite all our flaws and sins.

That, in itself, is reason enough for our reverent worship of Him.

Make the Bible’s Words Your Prayers

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Sometimes when we’re so down we just don’t know what to pray or how to pray to God. It seems like our prayers are going nowhere.

These are times when you can refer to the word of God for your prayers. If we’re weak in strength (emotionally and/or physically), all we have to do is pray words that have already been spoken before.

What this means is that we can use the God’s words from the Bible as our own prayers. We can find words that His people spoke to Him long ago and make them our own.

Rather than strictly coming to God with a list of concerns and cares, we can use these words as a guide to focus our prayers. Using them can transform our words into strong petitions that accurately reflect who God is and who we are in relation to Him.

Jeremiah 33:3 says,

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

Call out to God. Tell Him of your weakness. Tell Him you want to serve Him but you feel unequipped to do so. Trust Him to speak to you. It might not be right away, as sometimes we must wait on God to hear His voice clearly. But never stop trusting Him that He loves you and wants you to hear Him.

Praise God and thank Him that you can trust Him just as Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

You might pray something like, “Thank you, Father, that I can trust you with all my heart and that as I acknowledge you in every area of my life, you are making a straight path for me.”

It might be that trouble with your job or professional life has left you physically drained. Perhaps your finances are in disarray and you’re barely able to make ends meet.

In 1 Chronicles 4:10 we find this prayer from Jabez:

“Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!”

We learn in the next verse that God granted Jabez’s request. That’s not to say that God will give you whatever you ask for or that if He does, that it will be in the timeframe you want. God works in His own time and for His own divine purposes.

However, by speaking this prayer to God, you’re letting God know that you have needs (He already knows them anyway) and you’re inviting Him to be the One who works everything out. You’re recognizing that you can’t do it on your own.

Psalm 34:4-7 is a wonderful passage if you’re just feeling generally afraid and anxious:

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

Here we find David’s testimony that God helped him in his time of need. Just as He did for David, God will deliver you from your fears. He will save you out of your troubles.

Once again, it may not be in exactly the way you think He should. It may not be when you think it should be. But he is faithful. He’ll save you just like he did David.

Make these words your prayer. Personalize them. Thank God for His help. Praise Him for being faithful and for saving you as He did David.

Philippians 4:6-7 is another great passage for helping us through anxiety and worry. It tells us,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Pray to the Lord and thank Him that you have nothing to be anxious about. Praise Him for His peace in Jesus that is guarding your heart (emotions) and your mind (logical thought processes).

God loves us and is always there for us. Nothing we can ever do will change that.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him” (Ps. 103:11).

Use the examples that He gave us in His word to personalize your prayers and make them powerful, God-trusting, God-praising prayers. Fortify them with God’s words and see if He doesn’t help you in your time of need.