The Tool of Praise
by Sandra Moats
, 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!
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