Have you ever been in a tight situation and someone has said, “Well, just praise the Lord”? I sure have and to be honest it is at that split second I have to gather my strength and grace not to scream!!! In fact, you could almost get bitter towards God when someone says that. You’re thinking “But why? Why should I praise Him? Would God only bless me according to how much I praise Him?” A god like that would be so egocentric!
Some people have thought that if you could only praise God enough, He will come to help you or you could get something out of Him. That would make God sadistic!
Actually it’s not that way at all with God; God already knows how wonderful He is! God doesn’t need our praise to make Him feel good. No! Praising God is for you!
Praise and worship works like a plug. When you plug yourself into God, you plug into whatever power you need. It gets you in contact with God and whatever He has and whoever He is, becomes yours!
You can plug into the different aspects of God’s person. Plug in to God as Healer. Plug into God as Holy. Plug in to God as Provider. Plug in to God as Father. Plug into God as Mercy. Plug in to God as your Peace. As you do, you get more and more acquainted with Him, and those wonderful aspects of Him become part of you! You actually build a habitation for God in your very life. After all, the Word of God declares, The Lord inhabits the Praises of His people!
How do you make a habitation for God? You do it with the truth you know about God. Whatever you learn about Him, incorporate that into your praise of Him.
If you need strength, praise Him for being the strong God. If you need patience, praise Him for being always patient and slow to anger. If you feel that you are faithless and weak, plug into His faithfulness and praise Him for being ever faithful.
That’s how to worship Him in spirit and in truth. You worship God according to what you know is true about Him; according to the truth of what He has done for you. And when you add your heart to it, the wonderful aspects of His person are going to permeate your life. That’s when praise and worship is powerful! That is when you can boldly declare: “The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will extol Him. Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” Exodus 15: 2 &11 “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.“ Psalm 20:11-12
Until Next time..."Just Praise the Lord Sister!"
Dr. Nancy
