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

Was 2014 a Rotten Year for You?

I can’t say 2014 was rotten for me, but I can say I have had my challenges! I think of some of my friends tho…. quite a few of them.  They have been dealt a rotten 2014! I walked through that rotten year with them and I feel their pain.

2 days ago I began listening to the Old Testament, (Audio version) this stuck out to me. 

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14 NLT)

As I reflect on the past year, I now deliberately choose peace.

The 'Egyptians' in this verse symbolize the 'problems', the 'difficulties,' the 'challenges', the pure rottenness of this year. It says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that God's Name will be glorified". So don't lose heart or give up God WILL surely come thru for you. Choose peace.  He has already given us peace, (I’m leaving you with a gift,-- peace of mind and heart,  and the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.  John 14:27).  We only need to accept and receive it.  Whisper His Name in the midst of the turmoil in your mind. Soon, His peace will be felt. 

So I stand up and shake it off.  I resolve to leave 2014 behind me and face forward to tackle what is to come in 2015 a new beginning, a brand new start. I will leave those “Egyptians” behind me and will see them no more! Thank goodness!

My Verses for 2015:  

 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people.

And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.   Exodus 33:13-14 Amplified Bible

Gives and Takes

I borrowed this from someone on YouVersion.com

Subject: Gives and Takes

"Hi there, I just thought you might want to know that your children were having lunch together when suddenly a tornado swept in and the house collapsed. They're all dead."

•••

Yeah, I'm kidding. But seriously now. If someone came up and told you that, how would you react?

(Job 1)
Job was, of course, devastated. On top of losing all his children in one day, he'd already lost all his animals and working men by way of robbers, killers, and fire from heaven.
As if that wasn't enough, now all his children are dead.
This wasn't a good day for Job.

Verse 20 says he "stood up and tore his robe in grief."
That makes sense...I'd be pretty upset...but what comes next? When you run out of tears? Even after something like that, life must go on.

Well, see what Job did:

..."Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.
Job just lost all his children. Why on earth is he worshipping God? Isn't it God's fault? After all, He is in control of everything. He shouldn't have let something like that happen, right?

That might be our point of view.
When something goes wrong, or life doesn't seem "fair," we blame God. Apparently we think the world owes us a living. We feel that we are entitled to all the "good things" in life. We think God isn't giving us what we deserve.

Well, guess what. News flash. God really isn't giving us what we deserve.
If He did, you and I would be in Hell right now. But because of His mercy and grace, He not only doesn't give us what we DO deserve - He gives us what we DON'T deserve (you might have to read that twice). For one thing, He gives us many earthly blessings, but best of all He gives us His Son!

There's no reason to think we deserve that! It's only because of God's Amazing Grace! If life isn't going my way, or I'm not getting what I want...so be it. It is God's will. I didn't bring anything into the world, so I shouldn't expect to get something out of it. It is God who has blessed me with so much, and it is His right to take it away.

Here's how Job put it:
"I came naked from my mother's womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The LORD gave me what I had,
and the LORD has taken it away."

('We brought nothing of this world's goods into the world ... and it is certain we can carry nothing out ... Job, under all his losses, is [simply] reduced to his first state. He is [simply] where he [will be at death], and is only unclothed, or unloaded rather, a little sooner than he expected.'
—Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary)

In fact, Job even said, "Praise the name of the LORD!"
We should praise the Lord too! Even when disasters happen, praise Him, because we can trust that it is all part of His will. ALL things work for the good of those who love God...even the hard things.
Even when bad things happen, God is in control. There is not a single atom in the universe that is not subject to God's will. We can praise God always.

Verse 22 says: In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

•••

Wow. Even after Job lost his livestock, his servants, and his family in what would seem like a terrible accident, he didn't blame God. He knew he didn't deserve God's blessings. He knew it was God who had given him all that he had, and God could take it away.
I can't say I want all the things that happened to Job to happen to me...but if they ever do, hope I can remember to have the attitude Job had.

~my thoughts

Speak God's Word to the Mountain

Speak God's Word to the Mountain 

When Jesus said that we are to speak to the mountain, commanding it to be lifted up and thrown into the sea, He was making a radical statement. 

See, we usually talk about the "mountains," or challenges, in our lives, but God's Word instructs us to talk to them. And when we do, we must respond to them with the Word of God. 

In Luke 4, when Satan was trying to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, the Lord responded to every trial by speaking Scripture. He repeatedly quoted verses that met the lies and deceptions of the devil head-on. 

We have a tendency to try this for awhile, but when we do not see quick results, we stop speaking the Word to our problems and begin once again to speak our feelings. Persistence is a vital link to obtaining victory. 

Constantly speaking the Word is powerful and absolutely necessary in overcoming any problem or negative situation. Know what you believe and be determined to stick with it to the end. 

Prayer Starter: Holy Spirit, remind me daily to speak the Word to the mountains in my life. Every time I give in to complaining or despair, fill me with Your peace and boldness and prompt me to speak Your will and move mountains!

Surrender

God cannot work His 'magic' in your life if you don't give your life to him. He desires for us to completely trust Him with every part of our life, and surrender it to Him so that He can mold us into a beautiful piece that glorifies Him.
 For example, I have a pen in my pocket. The pen is absolutely surrendered to the work of writing. It must be completely surrendered to my hand if I am to write with it. If someone else also holds the this pen I cannot write properly.

Do you think God can work His work, or His desire in your life, unless you are totally given up to Him? Of course not.

My Prayer: Oh God, I am willing for You to make me willing to surrender my complete life, being, job, relationships, health to You.

Be to Others

 I'm sure we lose a lot of blessings we never even know about simply because we fail to do for others what we would like to have done for us. We always want to be blessed by others, but do we take the initiative to unselfishly bless them first?

Instead of sitting around, focusing on yourself, waiting for blessings to come your way, it's time to actively make sacrifices and serve the people God has placed in your life. Be a servant and make others the focus.

Instead of feeling rejected and ignored, you'll be amazed at how your relationships improve when you treat others the way you want to be treated.

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12 NLT)