When is Praise really Praise?

Recently I have been delving again into learning more about prayer and how to make my prayer time more effective, more meaningful, and more pleasing to God. Here are some of the things God is showing me....

What is the purpose of prayer? In the Garden of Eden God came down and walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. They didn't have a list of petitions or requests from Him. they were just there to have a relationship with Him, to spend time together. They didn't need to repent of anything, (at first) and they didn't need to intercede for anyone, they just spent time with Him, walking in the garden. Spending time with someone is how we build a relationship. Even a relationship with God is built on spending time together, whether it's in prayer or in the Word.

There are different kinds of prayers: the one I want to talk about today is

  Praise and Thanksgiving. 

We usually associate singing with praise, And that's right; many times our singing is a form of praise. We call it praise and worship, although worship is much more than that. It includes every single thing we do. Praise itself has many forms too.

If you are in an active church, you are probably not new to the idea that we need to praise God through our storms, in our trials.There are songs about it, We have been taught how important it is to fight the spiritual battle by praising God. I have been a great advocate for this type of praise, encouraging others to stay thankful even in deep pits of trouble. If only we can give praise...we will see wondrous results when we persist in praise through our difficulties.
Praise You in the Storm by Casting Crowns   

Is it truly Praising God when we do it just to fight that battle? Does God even hear us? 

When we say, "I've been praising God for this for a whole week... I should be seeing some results..." Do you think that pleases God? Or is it an insult? He is Good. When He has been holding us in His hand the whole time, how do you think  He feels about our attitude? Where is my focus? 

When is praise really praise? 

It is interesting to me that when Paul and Silas were in prison they sang and praised God at midnight, not because they thought God would bring a miracle to get them out of prison, but because they loved God. How do I know? What did they do when the earthquake broke gates open and their chains fell off? They didn't even leave; they kept singing!

  It is apparent that the motive was Love & praise!

Praise is effective, but when it doesn't come from our heart, is it praise? How do we make sure our praise is pleasing Him? I admit there are times when someone says something negative to me, and I say tongue in cheek, with my mouth, "I love you" When in my heart that is the very opposite of what I'm feeling. I'm bridling my body and tongue to DO the right thing, confident that in time my heart will feel it too! Is that wrong? 

I have the feeling of standing on the brink of a great breakthrough! God is so great and so good, there are not enough words to fully describe His greatness, His faithfulness, His LOVE, yes His all consuming love. I am so overwhelmed by His love for me. Nothing can separate me from His LOVE!  Romans 8:38-39  Nothing can separate you from his love either!

He loves YOU! 

I believe something happens when we turn our focus from our troubles and turn our attention to Jesus! It seems rather berserk to say something like, "God I praise you for my bad back", can we honestly make a statement like that? maybe.  But what would happen if you turned your attention to Him and said something like this? "Jesus, I am so glad that You are bigger than my bad back, and I am so thankful that You LOVE me so much that even the pain I feel in my back is nothing when compared to what You went through so that I could be saved!"  How different the feeling you get when you exalt Him and give praise to Him! I think He feels the difference as well!

Pray the Answer, Instead of the Problem

When your eyes on yourself it is impossible to praise! It just kills it. But when your relationship is in the right place, in clear focus, you don't need to 'make' yourself praise Him.... it will just bubble up from that place in your heart and overflow to your lips and actions! You will sing and you will be telling people about how great, wonderful, faithful, powerful, and merciful HE is in the middle of your situation! Even through your tears the praise is beautiful. It's called the 'sacrifice of praise' but it in comparison to His sacrifice it feels insignificant! 

So are there times when I must through clenched teeth begin praising when I feel like complaining? Probably yes. As you can see, when I place the proper perspective on Him, I focus on Him rather than myself and soon I feel the praise bubbling up from inside and spilling out everywhere and God is very pleased with that kind of praise.

 Through this type of outpouring, comes many a breakthrough and the devil is defeated! 

He HATES to hear us praise God. It sends him packing! I can picture him with his fingers in his ears and running to get out of our hearing! I love it!!! :)  

The Year of Prayer

In 2014 my focus was on prayer. I felt the growth in my faith as well. I believe God is working in the areas I have prayed for even when I don’t see any results yet.

I like the example of a pregnant woman. 

When my niece first told me she was pregnant, I couldn't see that she was pregnant. I didn't say, “Well you don’t look any different, so I don’t believe it’s true. Nothing has changed.” She looked just like she did before, but I believed her.  As I waited and believed and continued my relationship, she started looking a little bit different! Not a big change but a little bump. As I continued waiting the little bump grew. Each month I noticed a bigger change until eventually she really does look very pregnant. So it is with answers to prayers. We believe and expect that God is working even when we don’t see it. He has a lot of ground work to do! We expect results and results take time!  

I learned the importance of God’s Word! When we pray God’s Word, we are taking a positive approach to prayer, praying the answer rather than the problem. Have you ever spent time in prayer telling God all about the details of your problem? 

You repeat to  God all the negative things your spouse is saying and doing that hurt you, all the bad reports the doctor gave you, the gossip that’s going around about you and how hurt you feel that your friends have let you down, all the trouble your children have gotten into, how you were treated unfairly at work and someone else got the promotion you should have received, as if He doesn't already know? Then at the end you may say something like 

“Oh God I know you are a Great and merciful God so please show them how wrong they are and help them to change; vindicate me!” How do you feel when you finish praying? 

You just occupied 30 minutes of your prayer time reviewing and rehearsing your problems 

while only giving about 5 seconds to recognizing God for who He is  and petitioning for His answer. Of course you feel rotten! You just relived the hurt and rejection you felt when it occurred the first time! Don't multiply your suffering in this way! Instead, come to Him and relax in His peace. He wants to give us rest! 

Keep your prayers positive. Instead of repeating all your problem’s details, and the negative stuff try something like,

“Dear Father, You know the problems I’m having with my spouse. I praise you for bringing us together and I know that you love (him/her) even more than I do, so I know that you are working to bring unity into our marriage.”

Thank him in advance for the victory He will bring. 

His Name is greater than any other name under heaven, this includes names like rejection, cancer, fear… and the list goes on.

Don’t ask God to do for you what He has already done. Instead thank Him for it and receive it. Keep it simple. Sometimes less is more! 

Wordy prayers don’t impress him! He hears our simple cry “Help me!”

Could I suggest that at least 90% of our prayer time, maybe 95%; should be occupied with praise, adoration, thanksgiving, & worship. The other 5-10% will be adequate time for petitions and requests.

I find when we sense the Glory of God, His worth, His awesomeness, how good a Father He is, and all that He has done for us, it seems our problems fade into the background and as we praise Him and glorify His Name, and put our trust in Him, we will find that He takes care of our requests even if we don’t speak them. Matthew 6:33   Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. We don’t need to beg and plead with God to pour out His Spirit or for his mercy. He has already done that.

God loves you! He can't wait to fulfill the desires of your heart! He has planted those desires inside you! He is a good Father. He takes good care of his kids!

Have faith and believe that He has answered your prayer. Do you question whether you are saved?  Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? Do you believe that He was raised from the dead?

If you answered “YES” Pray this prayer out loud,

“Jesus I believe that you are Lord, and that you died to pay the price for my sins and that God raised you from the dead.” This scripture says you are saved. Believe it.  

In the same way we believe that we are saved we can believe that our prayers are heard and He will answer. Mark 11:24 NIV Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will by yours.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! (2 Corinthians 5:21) When we received Jesus into our hearts He placed a robe of righteousness on us and that is what He sees! In Isaiah 61:3 he says “(we) will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” I love that!

Sometimes we destroy our own prayers! Our unbelief shows up. Have you ever prayed & asked God to intervene in a situation. The phone rings and you start telling your girlfriend all about the problem that you just gave to God? You say lines like “He always does/says ______.   _____will never change!” These conversations destroy the prayer you just prayed! They reinforce our unbelief! 

We need to reinforce our faith by saying things like...

• “I believe that God is working.”
• “I am one day closer to the breakthrough.”
• “I trust you God.”
• “I believe that the outcome will be even better than I can imagine.”                               Thank Him for these truths.

Learn More about a Better Way to Pray

Bless the Lord

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

PSALM 103

¹ O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don't forget a single blessing! ³ He forgives your sins - every one.
He heals your diseases - every one.
He redeems you from hell - saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy - a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness - beauty eternal.
He renews your youth - you're always young in his presence.

⁶ God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he's rich in love.
He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we're made of mud.
Men and women don't live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God's love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.

¹⁹ God has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He's the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are -
everything and everyone made by God. And you, O my soul, bless God!