The Power of Praise
I was worshiping the other day, and the Lord took me to Psalm 33. He started to remind me of the power of praise and a book I read a long time ago called Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers. This book's premise is to thank God for your situation, good or bad, and trust that He uses everything for His good and glory. There are two main Scriptures he uses as the basis of his book.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
I felt such conviction as I prayed that I needed to grow in my lifestyle of gratitude and praise. Recently, there have been some things that have challenged my ability for gratefulness. To name a few, my husband was diagnosed with Coronary Heart Disease and changed to a plant-based diet, and my son is wrestling with significant anxiety. The Lord reminded me that I need to praise Him for these situations. He did not cause these things to happen but reassured me He is at work in them. This is contrary to my natural mind to praise God for evil or the work of the enemy, but I trusted the Lord wanted to take me deeper.
“Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre, sing praises to Him with the harp of ten strings. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with a loud and joyful sound.” Psalm 33:1-3
The verse about singing a new song really stood out to me as I read through Psalm 33. We all sing a song with our lives. The song we sing will propel us forward or backward. What song am I singing? Is my song full of complaining, anger, frustration, and discouragement? Or Is my song full of praise, thanksgiving, and gratefulness?
I love that the Lord says praise is becoming. Becoming in Hebrew means beautiful. The one who is full of praise is beautiful. This is so true! Have you ever been around someone that radiates thankfulness and appreciation? How do you feel when someone appreciates you or is thankful for what they have? It is such a delight to be around someone like this. On the flip side, how do you feel when you are with someone that is always complaining, negative or argumentative? It is the farthest thing from becoming or beautiful. You walk away from the conversation, heavy, discouraged, and feeling yucky.
David knew the secret and power behind heartfelt, genuine praise. He experienced different situations that caused great despair, fear, tragic loss, betrayal, shame, anger, discouragement, etc. Despite all he went through, David said, “I will bless the Lord at ALL times; His praise shall continually be on my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord, the humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice. O Magnify with me and let us lift His name together.” Psalm 34:1-3
The Lord wants our souls to partake in praise. Psalm 63:1-2 is a picture of what the Lord wants for our souls.
O God, You are my God; with the deepest longing, I will seek You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
Our soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions. Our soul naturally does not want to praise the Lord unless it has an understanding of the situation. So, how do we shift our souls into praise and thanksgiving?
A few things that have helped me:
1. Release your expectations of the outcome or what you think things should look like right now. Release yourself from trying to figure things out.
2. Accept your situation or where you are right now without understanding why you are there. Acceptance of what? That God is good, His Word is true, and He wants the best for us. God wants us to rest in the fact that He will work it all out for our good and His glory. To praise God is to delight ourselves in Him and His nature. We praise God not for what we expect Him to do in the situation, but we praise Him for who He is and where and how we are right now.
2. Thank the Lord for everything that Holy Spirit brings to mind, even the things from the enemy. Thank Him and praise Him for them. He did not cause them to happen, but He allowed them. The turning point can’t come until we begin to praise God for our situation instead of crying out for Him to take it away.
3. Choose willfully and intentionally to believe that what God says is true. I choose to believe Romans 8:28 over this situation. I believe acceptance and thanksgiving release into the situation a supernatural, divine force that causes beyond our natural understanding an unfolding of God-inspired events.
4. Rest and wait. God will move beyond our wildest dreams and desires.
As the Lord invites you deeper into thanksgiving and praise, you will benefit in your spirit, soul, and body. Take a look at a few of the benefits that the medical community has discovered over the past several years.
Benefits of Praise-
Enhances dopamine and serotine, which are responsible for happiness.
Releases toxic emotions.
Reduces pain.
Improves sleep quality.
Aides in stress reduction.
Changes the neural structures of the brain.
Regulates the sympathetic nervous system that activates our anxiety responses, and it conditions the brain to filter the negative things and focus on the positive thoughts.
As you practice praise, my prayer is that you would experience God’s power to bring breakthrough in every area of your life.