The Power of Praise

 

By Andrea Merrell

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Psalm 100:4 NKJV

 

“I don’t feel like praising God,” the woman said. “Look what’s going on in my life. What do I have to be thankful for?”

The truth is that’s when we need to praise Him the most. The Bible says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV).

What is sacrificial praise? According to The Word for You Today, it is “praise when you don’t feel like it. When you’re going through seasons of hardship. When humanly speaking, you can’t think of a single thing to praise God for. With God, the praise that costs is the praise that counts.”

David is our best example. Even when running and hiding from his enemies, he never lost his faith in God. And he never hesitated to pray and sing songs of praise to the One who could deliver him—no matter how bad the situation.

Praise is powerful. It touches the heart of God and opens doors that no man can open. It brings deliverance. It heals. It crushes fear. It drives away the darkness and the forces of evil. It lifts us out of the pit of despair and into the heavenly realm.

Let praise become as natural as breathing. Let it become your weapon of choice. Read through the Psalms often and let those words soak deep within. Then you can say along with David, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1 KJV).

Now that’s power!

Photo courtesy of priscilla-du-preez-zeqWKOn5PNM on Unsplash.