The Tool of The Tool of Praise In the Bible God has given us tools that help us as we walk on earth. They are tools that make our journey easier. One of the most powerful tools available to all Christians is praise. There are many books written about praise that offers encouragement and direction on how to use this tool, but unless you pick up the tool it will be useless.
Webster''s Dictionary says that praise means, "to extol, laud, honor, acclaim, and express approval". When we walk through trials of loss and we choose to praise the Lord, He is with us in the midst of our situation. It is a form of trust that acknowledges that God has everything under control, and He will work all things together for good. Ro 8:28.
It is God''s will for us to praise Him in all situations. Your life will grow in the Lord as you learn to praise Him through each circumstance, and it is God''s will. " Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess.5:16-18.
God loves us and He has a wonderful plan for our lives. Though we do not understand why things happen we can choose to trust Him to be with us. As we praise Him our burdens will lighten. We may not feel like praising the Lord, but as we begin praising His power enters the situation. We can choose to praise the Lord for His faithfulness to never leave us nor forsake us in our darkest hour. Heb. 13:8. The more praise grows in us the lighter the burden becomes.
The Bible says that we are to cast all our cares upon Jesus for He cares for us. I Pe 5:7. As we praise the Lord we are casting our burdens and cares on Him. When walking through heavy trials of loss that might be health, life or property we can cast all our cares upon Jesus. Praise is trusting God with will all our cares.
I remember walking through the dark days of our son Nathan''s journey home. Many days it was not easy to praise the Lord, but as I put my trust in Him I saw our son take a hold of the Lord''s hand. Through many tears and prayers, I was able to praise the Lord from my heart as our son returned home to Heaven. God gave me the oil of joy for mourning. Isa 61:1-3.
A Christian''s way of life should be to praise the Lord. When we praise Him we are delighting in Him. The Bible tells us" Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Ps 37:4. We don''t praise the Lord to get what we want, but we delight in Him for who He is, not because of what we can gain. Heart praise releases the power of God into a situation because God inhabits our praises. Ps 22:3. When our hearts have the right attitude in praise then God blesses. Many times an attitude of praise will spark a change of the situation.
Praise involves us setting our eyes on Jesus instead of the circumstance. One of our mentors shared this story with us. His office overlooked a dump. He hated the scene, grumbled, and thought about moving his office. One day the Lord spoke to him and said, "Lift up your eyes and see the beautiful mountains." The mountains were beautiful indeed, and all he had to do was lift his eyes off the ugly dump below to see the beauty before him. Praise does that for us. As we lift our eyes from the circumstance and set them on the beauty of Jesus Christ we see things through new eyes.
The Bible tells us to praise the Lord in everything. In faith step out and trust Him at His Word. It takes faith in God to step out and praise Him for tragic situations that are beyond our control. Faith is what martyrs, such as John Hus, had as they died for Christ. John died singing praises to Jesus as he was burned at the stake. Ac 16:25. He trusted God that there was a better place waiting for him in Heaven. He was so sure in his faith he was able to sing praises the Lord in that horrifying situation.
King David of the Bible wrote many Psalms that were filled with praise. In Psalms 50:23, we are told when we offer up praise we glorify God. Though David faced many enemies he offered up praise during those times. They were sacrifices of praise and God honored him and delivered him from his enemies. Ps. 27:6. As we walk through life sometimes enemies arise in our path. As we lift our hearts and voice to God in praise He will deliver us out of their hands.
Praise needs to be understood by the person giving it. To praise the Lord in word only does nothing. There was a time when many Christians used the phrase, "Praise the Lord" about anything to the point that it could be considered a vain repetition. Mr 6:7. But when "Praise the Lord" comes from the heart of a Christian, who is honoring and trusting God, that is true praise. God wants us to let praise flow from our hearts, especially in difficult times.
There are many Christians now who take medications for anxiety. Praise is the best prescription for depression and anxiety. As we let go of each situation that entangles with depression and lift our voice in praise we are freed from the heaviness.
Once we had a lovely home that we built. The pipes broke and the whole down stairs flooded one night. I got up in the wee hours after hearing water running. I stepped into inches of water. It was really discouraging as we had just moved in and we would have to redo floors and carpets. I looked at the situation and began to thank the Lord for all the mess we were in for I knew He was in it with us.
After all the clean up in the previous flooding, again, I got up to a flooded downstairs. I knew it would mean another 3 months of work to get things back in order. I raised my hands to the Lord and began to thank and praise Him more than before for whatever good would come out of the circumstance. It was amazing as I felt the weight of the whole matter lift off of me that dark night.
Singing praises is another way to express your trust to God. Paul and Silas sang praises to the Lord in the Philippian jail and were set free. Ac 16:25.
At one point in our life it seemed that we faced one trial after another. My favorite way to praise Jesus was to walk our property and sing out to Him, "You are my Strength O God, You are my Life O God, You are my all in all." I loved how it would echo off the mountains. Each time it did that my spirit was strengthened.
Praise is the tool given to us to bring us through to victory so we can be overcomers. As we walk in faith and focus on Jesus instead of our problems we will be free of heaviness. I pray you will pick up the tool of praise and be blessed!
In the Bible God has given us tools that help us as we walk on earth. They are tools that make our journey easier. One of the most powerful tools available to all Christians is praise. There are many books written about praise that offers encouragement and direction on how to use this tool, but unless you pick up the tool it will be useless.
Webster''s Dictionary says that praise means, "to extol, laud, honor, acclaim, and express approval". When we walk through trials of loss and we choose to praise the Lord, He is with us in the midst of our situation. It is a form of trust that acknowledges that God has everything under control, and He will work all things together for good. Ro 8:28.
It is God''s will for us to praise Him in all situations. Your life will grow in the Lord as you learn to praise Him through each circumstance, and it is God''s will. " Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess.5:16-18.
God loves us and He has a wonderful plan for our lives. Though we do not understand why things happen we can choose to trust Him to be with us. As we praise Him our burdens will lighten. We may not feel like praising the Lord, but as we begin praising His power enters the situation. We can choose to praise the Lord for His faithfulness to never leave us nor forsake us in our darkest hour. Heb. 13:8. The more praise grows in us the lighter the burden becomes.
The Bible says that we are to cast all our cares upon Jesus for He cares for us. I Pe 5:7. As we praise the Lord we are casting our burdens and cares on Him. When walking through heavy trials of loss that might be health, life or property we can cast all our cares upon Jesus. Praise is trusting God with will all our cares.
I remember walking through the dark days of our son Nathan''s journey home. Many days it was not easy to praise the Lord, but as I put my trust in Him I saw our son take a hold of the Lord''s hand. Through many tears and prayers, I was able to praise the Lord from my heart as our son returned home to Heaven. God gave me the oil of joy for mourning. Isa 61:1-3.
A Christian''s way of life should be to praise the Lord. When we praise Him we are delighting in Him. The Bible tells us" Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Ps 37:4. We don''t praise the Lord to get what we want, but we delight in Him for who He is, not because of what we can gain. Heart praise releases the power of God into a situation because God inhabits our praises. Ps 22:3. When our hearts have the right attitude in praise then God blesses. Many times an attitude of praise will spark a change of the situation.
Praise involves us setting our eyes on Jesus instead of the circumstance. One of our mentors shared this story with us. His office overlooked a dump. He hated the scene, grumbled, and thought about moving his office. One day the Lord spoke to him and said, "Lift up your eyes and see the beautiful mountains." The mountains were beautiful indeed, and all he had to do was lift his eyes off the ugly dump below to see the beauty before him. Praise does that for us. As we lift our eyes from the circumstance and set them on the beauty of Jesus Christ we see things through new eyes.
The Bible tells us to praise the Lord in everything. In faith step out and trust Him at His Word. It takes faith in God to step out and praise Him for tragic situations that are beyond our control. Faith is what martyrs, such as John Hus, had as they died for Christ. John died singing praises to Jesus as he was burned at the stake. Ac 16:25. He trusted God that there was a better place waiting for him in Heaven. He was so sure in his faith he was able to sing praises the Lord in that horrifying situation.
King David of the Bible wrote many Psalms that were filled with praise. In Psalms 50:23, we are told when we offer up praise we glorify God. Though David faced many enemies he offered up praise during those times. They were sacrifices of praise and God honored him and delivered him from his enemies. Ps. 27:6. As we walk through life sometimes enemies arise in our path. As we lift our hearts and voice to God in praise He will deliver us out of their hands.
Praise needs to be understood by the person giving it. To praise the Lord in word only does nothing. There was a time when many Christians used the phrase, "Praise the Lord" about anything to the point that it could be considered a vain repetition. Mr 6:7. But when "Praise the Lord" comes from the heart of a Christian, who is honoring and trusting God, that is true praise. God wants us to let praise flow from our hearts, especially in difficult times.
There are many Christians now who take medications for anxiety. Praise is the best prescription for depression and anxiety. As we let go of each situation that entangles with depression and lift our voice in praise we are freed from the heaviness.
Once we had a lovely home that we built. The pipes broke and the whole down stairs flooded one night. I got up in the wee hours after hearing water running. I stepped into inches of water. It was really discouraging as we had just moved in and we would have to redo floors and carpets. I looked at the situation and began to thank the Lord for all the mess we were in for I knew He was in it with us.
After all the clean up in the previous flooding, again, I got up to a flooded downstairs. I knew it would mean another 3 months of work to get things back in order. I raised my hands to the Lord and began to thank and praise Him more than before for whatever good would come out of the circumstance. It was amazing as I felt the weight of the whole matter lift off of me that dark night.
Singing praises is another way to express your trust to God. Paul and Silas sang praises to the Lord in the Philippian jail and were set free. Ac 16:25.
At one point in our life it seemed that we faced one trial after another. My favorite way to praise Jesus was to walk our property and sing out to Him, "You are my Strength O God, You are my Life O God, You are my all in all." I loved how it would echo off the mountains. Each time it did that my spirit was strengthened.
Praise is the tool given to us to bring us through to victory so we can be overcomers. As we walk in faith and focus on Jesus instead of our problems we will be free of heaviness. I pray you will pick up the tool of praise and be blessed!