Joshua 6; 2 Chronicles 20; Acts 16.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. Joshua 6:16.
And at midnight , Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake; so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened; and every one’s bands were loosed
Acts 16:25-26.
The use of praise to attain divine favor is as uncommon as the application of appreciation to do same. Yet, praise remains a veritable means to reach God for specific answers to requests and demands before Him.
Praise excites God. Rejoices His heart and moves His hands to bless His people. The same way we apply prayers to reach God for His kindness and tender mercies, is the same way praise touches God to bless His people. Perhaps, that is part of the reasons why David remained a favorite of God.
The Bible book of Psalms is littered with hymns of praise by David unto God. Even when David was offensive to God, he still had the presence of mind and spirit to pen down Psalms of praise to God in repentance, in confession and in acknowledgement of God as the only Supreme Being and Sovereign Personality, against whom he , David, hath sinned.
Indeed, it would be great for our generation of believers to appreciate the need to praise God, even when in difficulty. Believers must know that God inhabits the praises of His people.
By implication, our praises form the dwelling place of our God. Therefore, when a believer or group of believers do not praise God, they are most likely unable to host God. How about that! Yes, they will fail to build capacity that can accommodate God within themselves.
A deeper reflection of praise gives us an insight that it’s another kind of worship . The sentimentalization of a relationship between one and the object of his worship.
The adoration of a personality , putting him or her to a position of a deity in one’s life. For us as believers, such a deity is God. The Jehovah Elohim. The Almighty God.
Praise recognizes that one is inferior to the one being praised. It acknowledges the fact that the object of praise is greater, more powerful and of higher grace, and has the same capacity, to bestow such favor, power and grace upon the one doing the praise.
Paul and Silas recognized this reality, hence they began to praise God , even when they were incarcerated by the powers greater than they were during their missionary works , as recorded in Acts 16. They were in prison. But they were consciously aware that there is a far more greater power than the one under which they were imprisoned. Therefore, they resorted to that God in prayer and praise.
The point must be noted that the physical fate of Paul and Silas didn’t encourage their singing of praise to God at that material time. They should have been content digging deeper into more prayers to ensure that God heard them. But they did the unthinkable by praising God, and possibly forgetting their imprisonment and their bands temporarily. Praise gave them the desired miracle. They got their freedom, their Liberty and their deliverance. They acknowledged God’s SOVEREIGNTY, His Almightineess. He remains the same.
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat chose to mobilize the children of Israel to praise God than to cringe before some pagan kings in defeat After they had prayed, for God to help them gain victory over the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. who wanted to annihilate them, they began to praise their God, whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. And that was the secret they needed to attract their miracle. They had the confederacy roundly defeated.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say’ praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever. 2 Chronicles 20:21.
And as soon as they began to sing, the joy of the LORD was aroused , and he set ambushments against the confederacy who began to destroy themselves. God is always greater than our fears , and those who are against us. He is a holly God. Acknowledge this quality of God in your praise always. He’s not like any man.
Think of Joshua also using praise to collapse the walls of Jericho so that when next you are faced with a challenge: try PRAISE. God bless.
Happy Sunday.
ABOUT THE PREACHER
Pastor Okoro is a revivalist and marriage counselor. He could be reached on:
08051000462.
©All Bible references are from KJV, except otherwise stated.
November 13, 2022.
