Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Day 21: What I Learned from 21 Days of Praise


Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6

1. Sometimes you have to praise him by yourself. Corporate praise is wonderful, but not always available. You have to get in your spirit even if nobody else gives God praise that I am going to praise him, even if it's by myself. As a matter of fact, some of the best praise services may be in your house by yourself as you listen to gospel music and clean or in the shower as you start to sing and reflect on the goodness of God.

2. You are never really by yourself. Just like Elijah thought he was the only one who had not bowed to Baal, God had some other prophets out there who were faithful to him too. You may think that you are by yourself but others are on the same page. Sometimes you just might not see or hear them, but at the right time they make their presence known.

3. Praise and Prayer go hand in hand. Praise should be a part of our prayers. It's easy for our praise to become prayers. When we start to say who God is and think about what He's done, we can't help but start to thank Him and talk to him.

4. Consistency is key. Developing the discipline of praise takes consistently doing it. Making a conscious decision to make prayer and praise a part of your daily life is a decision and investment that has heavenly dividends.

5.  "Anyhow" Praise. God is worthy, whatever our circumstances. He is worthy of praise just because He is. Praise him "anyhow." Even when things are not going your way, God deserves your praise.

6. Praise is the passport to God's presence and power. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

7. Praise sets us free and releases others too. When Paul and Silas were in prison, they gave God an "anyhow" praise (see #5). Although they were in chains, beaten and facing persecution and possibly death, they were praying and singing praises to God (see #3). They knew that whatever happened they were going to be alright and that God is good and worthy to be praised.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Acts 16:25-26

Someone may be watching you going through and they still see you praising God, being consistent not only with the praise of your mouth but with the living sacrifice of your daily walk with Christ (see #4) and because of your praise, not only will you be set free but others will be unchained.

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