The Power Of Praise
I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 145:1-3
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Jesus Christ who is not ashamed to call us brethren is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Judah means praise (Genesis 29:35). As believers we belong to the tribe of Judah and therefore to the tribe of praise; so when we praise, we are in tune with our destiny. Since we belong to the tribe of Judah, triumph is also our heritage (Genesis 49:8-12). Yes, when praise becomes our life style, triumph becomes our heritage; therefore, the son of wickedness will no longer be able to exact upon us but our hand shall be on the neck of our enemies for we are of the tribe of Judah. God’s word is unchanging:
"Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? Genesis 49:8-9
I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him. "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. Psalm. 89:20-22.
We can trigger of the Judaic nature inside of us and praise God to enable and see our triumphs and victories in all things just like David did. God called David a man after His heart. David lived up to God's purpose for creating him, he praised God continually and that was why he won God’s heart. Because we belong to the tribe of Judah, we’re of the company of those that must be praised by others, by reason of our outstanding results and undeniable breakthroughs through the avenue of praise. Until we give God what is due unto Him, we cannot expect what is due to us. That is why a praising Christian is an ever-shining, reigning and ruling person!
Hence we can praise our way out of penury into plenty, out of sickness into health, and out of smallness into greatness! Yet praise is one of the most neglected or ignored spiritual weapons in Christendom, and purely as a result of ignorance. Nothing greases life like praise! When any system or engine lacks grease, it begins to make a cracking noise. That is how many lives in the body of Christ are today, because they lack the grease of praise.
The word of God clearly tells us rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Now it’s a fact that that God not only inhabits the praise of His people but praise has great beneficial value to the believer. It is his cheapest access to the Most High God. It is also one of his surest accesses to the realm of the miraculous. Praise is also a preservative of the blessings of God. Blessings may come without it, but it takes praise to preserve the blessings. It is to one's blessings what salt is to meat - it keeps it from decaying. The word of God tells that priests stood the risk of losing God’s blessings, because they had ignored the ways of God. God’s word is true:
"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name," Says the LORD of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart. "Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it. Malachi 2:1-3
By not remembering to give God the glory due to Him, the priests stood to have refuse (in this case shame and reproach) spread on their faces. So there are negative consequences to not praising God? But on the positive side the greatest obstacle facing a believer in life will never require more than praise to become a miracle. No obstacle can escape the touch of Jesus, when we invoke that touch by intense, hearty praise; not just with the lips, but praise coming from the depth of our soul!
Praise is much more effectual than the longest fast any man can engage in. And, although prayer (no matter how fervent) has its place, it cannot compete with praise in potency. Praise makes things work quickly! Those who are learned to praise God have found that there is a highway of praise. It’s a freeway – They just keep going on from triumph to triumph, victory to victory!
Thankfulness and praise from the depths of our hearts cause God to step in and the devils to step out for our God is "fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Exodus 15:11). To the natural praise it seems that praise is the last things we are to do when we are in trouble. But David and Judah always praised the Lord when they were in trouble and were always victorious as a result. When Paul and Silas prayed (while in chains in the prison), and there seemed to be no response from heaven, they switched over to praise, and God intervened (Acts 16:25-26)!
In the ministry of Jesus (the feeding of the five thousand and the raising of Lazarus from the dead), we see that they both answered to praise. Jesus showed us that whenever a problem will take God, then give it praise; because praise will always get God on the scene. Whatever appears difficult in our life is only waiting for 0ur praise, to fall down flat like the wall of Jericho. When something stronger than us is fighting us, all we have to do is to stop struggling and just praise and thank God and He will fight the battle for us. God’s word is unchanging:
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. Psalm 66:1-3
When we praise God from the depth of our being the greatness of His power shatters the plan of the enemies. Praise is a mystery, because as we raise God, things are mysteriously handled from the "headquarters" of heaven, while we just watch the events unfold before us. The greatest obstacle before us will not require more than praise to be converted to a miracle. Praise made one little boy's lunch to be enough to feed five thousand men! It brought Lazarus out of the grave, after he had been dead for four days! But when God steps in, there is nothing decomposition can do. When He came to the graveside, He recomposed Lazarus' system, and he that was dead came forth from the grave, alive! (John.11:44.) The wall of Jericho, the heaviest wall in its days (upon which six chariots could run side by side), "dissolved" in the hands of praise! The Bible says, "The wall fell down flat..." (Joshua. 6:20).
In Jeremiah 32:27 God asks: Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? The Psalmist said, "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6). When we praise God with the remaining breath in us He will come down and flush the devil out for us and rescue us from the den of lions. God is always for us and with us and every time we're shut in and there seems to be no way out, we are just to praise God. As we do, there will be an earthquake, the prison gates will be shattered, and we will walk out into liberty for the tabernacle of David, which is praise, has found a place in our heart, so that we can have pleasures forever more!
Praise is an invitation that God can never turn down. Every time praise rises up to God, He steps in. That thing which the devil thinks is enough reason for us not to praise God, let it be the very reason for which we are praising Him. For when He stretches forth His hand, who can turn it back? His word is unchanging:
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3
I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. Psalm 69:30-31
This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. Isaiah 43:21
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9
We were created by God to live a life of praise and show forth His praises. Praise pleases God. As wonderful as faith is and the great accomplishments it brings, faith is not as potent as praise. While faith draws on God's faithfulness, praise draws on God's personality. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).God is pleased, so He moves to honor faith. But when God is pleased with praise, He comes down in person. God's faithfulness is triggered off by faith, while praise compels His presence. When God is pleased, exploits explode and we no longer live the ordinary life. Everything begins to answer to us in our business, career and Family. Miracles, signs and wonders begin to answer to us.
It's time to mean business with God! When God is pleased, anything can happen. So if we want to see something happen in our life, business and Family? All we need to do is just please Him with our praises. We need to acknowledge Him. We need to appreciate and acknowledge from our hearts every act and favor of God. A law of life is that every favor we do not appreciate God for depreciates, and every blessing whose source we don't acknowledge, disappears. We are not to take God's faithfulness for granted. When we do, we will be grounded! We are to always acknowledge that He did it all. Each time we see very strange acts, quickly acknowledge, "This is purely the hand of God!" For every little increase we see in our business, we are to sing praises to Him and even dance, dance and dance before Him! And He will just keep dazing us with His blessings. We can see and acknowledge Him for what He has done, we provoke Him to do more. His word is unchanging:
We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them. You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. Psalm 44:1-5
We are to be grateful! We can never be fruitful except when we are grateful. Every seed sown in ingratitude falls on the rock and has no future. When we refuse to see God’s hand, we frustrate Him and compel Him to stop blessing us. We are to praise Him for the abundance of all things! Every mountain before us can be leveled. But all we need is to maintain a high frequency of praise and a sense of gratitude. We are not to complain for everyone who complains ends up a convict, but every singing and jumping saint stays on top as a celebrity. There is everything to praise Him for. Everyone who lives in complaint lives in defeat; but he who lives in praise, lives in victory. We must make our choice to give Him thanks or complain! But God’s word is unchanging:
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, Psalm 92:1-2
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
After every act of God, He waits on the other side for an acknowledgement from us. This shows that God keeps record of our activities. Every act of His that is not acknowledged disqualifies us from receiving further blessings. And perfection is obtainable through praise. The bible tells us of ten lepers who were cleansed, but only the one that returned to give thanks was made whole. At every point in our life, we need to learn to say, "Thank You, Jesus." At every turn of event, we need to learn to say, "Praise the Lord." By doing this, we are getting ourselves set for amazing changes.
The force of thanksgiving was what lifted Lazarus out of the grave, where he had been dead and stinking for four days. It was by the same mystery that five loaves and two fishes multiplied to feed five thousand men, with twelve baskets-full gathered as leftovers! We are seeing such manifestations also in our days. No matter what valley we are trapped in, praise will raise us out of it. If our hands are not lifted up to God in praise and thanksgiving, we might die in the pit. Praise is our only way to keep staying at the top. God’s word is true:
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19
Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. Psalm 113:1,7-8
An angel can be waylaid, stranded or stopped on the way, but who can stop the Almighty? There is a continuous conflict in the heavenlies, between God's angels and Satan's angels. That is why angels can be stopped. But God can't be stopped. No force can stand in His way. That is why nothing can stand the power coming forth from our praises.
Every prayer requires angelic involvement for it to be fulfilled. For instance, when Peter was in prison in Acts 12, the Bible records that "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." In response to that prayer, God sent an angel down with the answer:
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. Acts 12:7-10
Whatever will take God only calls for praise. That is praise-warfare. When praise is in place, His presence is compelled, for He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In praise-warfare, we don't get emotionally excited. Rather, we look at the mountains before us and bring them down with praise. Praise is a God-given weapon in our hands, with which to humiliate Satan. It is the price to pay in order to transfer any battle from our hand to God's hand. When we enter into the realm of high praise, none of our enemies are safe anymore. When we switch over to praise-warfare, there will be a crashing down of every wall of Jericho in our life.
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20
Praise-warfare disarms our enemies, such as sickness, poverty, lack, failure, etc. When we give thanks and sing praises unto His name, Psalm 92:11 becomes a reality in our life: Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
God inhabits the praises of His people, and that is the ultimate in victory. His presence is our greatest spiritual asset as believers, and praise is the price we pay to get it. God's presence is our guarantee for maximum security against all the woes of life. No opposition or obstacle can withstand His presence. God's presence mocks barriers and puts us above circumstances; it confers on us more honor and dignity than any earthly status can, so that doors open before us just like they would before Him.
Praise will grant us access into the hurt-free zone of life, because God's presence automatically dispels evil. His eyes are too pure to behold evil, so evil can't be present where God is present. He dwells in the light that no man can approach unto (1Timothy 6:16). This is what makes praise a superior weapon of warfare in the conflicts of life. Whatever God has not planted, but which is growing in our life, Family, business, finance, children, etc, can be uprooted by the invocation of praise. From today, as we "praise at" whatever "tares" the enemy has sown in our life, God will step in and uproot them by Himself. If somebody says, "I should be married by now." Praise Him for that state, and you'll soon be married. Another says, "I should have a job by now." Praise Him and the job will be yours. There is no shut prison door that praise cannot shatter!
No one can stop God when He comes on the scene; so it is wisdom to switch Him on. He is Almighty and Omnipotent! Praise is one of the most potent weapons in spiritual warfare; though it appears very cheap, it brings the Almighty on the scene. When He takes over our battles, we become a relaxed winner. Whatever force is holding down any of our redemptive rights will bow as we praise God in a dance. David danced with all his might before the Lord and everything that mocked Him (including his wife) came under God's judgment (2 Samuel 6:14-23). Everything mocking us today will come under heaven's judgment as we too dance with all our might before Him. We can dance our way into our long-awaited covenant marriage, career and peace in the home!
Praise is God's natural habitat; whereas the devil naturally inhabits sorrow. So, we are to give the devil no place in our life by giving in to sorrow. The enemy won't take us for a ride anymore!
Sorrow and broken-heartedness thrive on the past, concentrating on failures, mishaps, missed opportunities, insults and assaults. But a life of joy on the contrary focuses on the future. It is full of expectation for a bright and better tomorrow. Many people expect good things, but very few believe that it will come to pass. Fewer still, focus on their expectations, so they are dragged back by the past and stranded by the things of the present. We can stay joyful because:
* God is always right.
* God is ever faithful.
* If God can’t do it, then no one else can. If God cannot, no one else should try. He is the end of human search.
It doesn’t matter where we are today, God has marked out a colourful future for us. We are not to sell off to sorrow, nor t give in to broken-heartedness. Everything that looks like a downward trend today is an upward thrust in disguise. That situation that looks like a stumbling block today is only a stepping stone to our next phase of glory. God’s word is unchanging:
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Romans 4:20
EXTRACT FROM Let God Arise
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I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 145:1-3
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Jesus Christ who is not ashamed to call us brethren is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Judah means praise (Genesis 29:35). As believers we belong to the tribe of Judah and therefore to the tribe of praise; so when we praise, we are in tune with our destiny. Since we belong to the tribe of Judah, triumph is also our heritage (Genesis 49:8-12). Yes, when praise becomes our life style, triumph becomes our heritage; therefore, the son of wickedness will no longer be able to exact upon us but our hand shall be on the neck of our enemies for we are of the tribe of Judah. God’s word is unchanging:
"Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? Genesis 49:8-9
I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him. "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. Psalm. 89:20-22.
We can trigger of the Judaic nature inside of us and praise God to enable and see our triumphs and victories in all things just like David did. God called David a man after His heart. David lived up to God's purpose for creating him, he praised God continually and that was why he won God’s heart. Because we belong to the tribe of Judah, we’re of the company of those that must be praised by others, by reason of our outstanding results and undeniable breakthroughs through the avenue of praise. Until we give God what is due unto Him, we cannot expect what is due to us. That is why a praising Christian is an ever-shining, reigning and ruling person!
Hence we can praise our way out of penury into plenty, out of sickness into health, and out of smallness into greatness! Yet praise is one of the most neglected or ignored spiritual weapons in Christendom, and purely as a result of ignorance. Nothing greases life like praise! When any system or engine lacks grease, it begins to make a cracking noise. That is how many lives in the body of Christ are today, because they lack the grease of praise.
The word of God clearly tells us rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Now it’s a fact that that God not only inhabits the praise of His people but praise has great beneficial value to the believer. It is his cheapest access to the Most High God. It is also one of his surest accesses to the realm of the miraculous. Praise is also a preservative of the blessings of God. Blessings may come without it, but it takes praise to preserve the blessings. It is to one's blessings what salt is to meat - it keeps it from decaying. The word of God tells that priests stood the risk of losing God’s blessings, because they had ignored the ways of God. God’s word is true:
"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name," Says the LORD of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart. "Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it. Malachi 2:1-3
By not remembering to give God the glory due to Him, the priests stood to have refuse (in this case shame and reproach) spread on their faces. So there are negative consequences to not praising God? But on the positive side the greatest obstacle facing a believer in life will never require more than praise to become a miracle. No obstacle can escape the touch of Jesus, when we invoke that touch by intense, hearty praise; not just with the lips, but praise coming from the depth of our soul!
Praise is much more effectual than the longest fast any man can engage in. And, although prayer (no matter how fervent) has its place, it cannot compete with praise in potency. Praise makes things work quickly! Those who are learned to praise God have found that there is a highway of praise. It’s a freeway – They just keep going on from triumph to triumph, victory to victory!
Thankfulness and praise from the depths of our hearts cause God to step in and the devils to step out for our God is "fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Exodus 15:11). To the natural praise it seems that praise is the last things we are to do when we are in trouble. But David and Judah always praised the Lord when they were in trouble and were always victorious as a result. When Paul and Silas prayed (while in chains in the prison), and there seemed to be no response from heaven, they switched over to praise, and God intervened (Acts 16:25-26)!
In the ministry of Jesus (the feeding of the five thousand and the raising of Lazarus from the dead), we see that they both answered to praise. Jesus showed us that whenever a problem will take God, then give it praise; because praise will always get God on the scene. Whatever appears difficult in our life is only waiting for 0ur praise, to fall down flat like the wall of Jericho. When something stronger than us is fighting us, all we have to do is to stop struggling and just praise and thank God and He will fight the battle for us. God’s word is unchanging:
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. Psalm 66:1-3
When we praise God from the depth of our being the greatness of His power shatters the plan of the enemies. Praise is a mystery, because as we raise God, things are mysteriously handled from the "headquarters" of heaven, while we just watch the events unfold before us. The greatest obstacle before us will not require more than praise to be converted to a miracle. Praise made one little boy's lunch to be enough to feed five thousand men! It brought Lazarus out of the grave, after he had been dead for four days! But when God steps in, there is nothing decomposition can do. When He came to the graveside, He recomposed Lazarus' system, and he that was dead came forth from the grave, alive! (John.11:44.) The wall of Jericho, the heaviest wall in its days (upon which six chariots could run side by side), "dissolved" in the hands of praise! The Bible says, "The wall fell down flat..." (Joshua. 6:20).
In Jeremiah 32:27 God asks: Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? The Psalmist said, "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6). When we praise God with the remaining breath in us He will come down and flush the devil out for us and rescue us from the den of lions. God is always for us and with us and every time we're shut in and there seems to be no way out, we are just to praise God. As we do, there will be an earthquake, the prison gates will be shattered, and we will walk out into liberty for the tabernacle of David, which is praise, has found a place in our heart, so that we can have pleasures forever more!
Praise is an invitation that God can never turn down. Every time praise rises up to God, He steps in. That thing which the devil thinks is enough reason for us not to praise God, let it be the very reason for which we are praising Him. For when He stretches forth His hand, who can turn it back? His word is unchanging:
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3
I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. Psalm 69:30-31
This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. Isaiah 43:21
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9
We were created by God to live a life of praise and show forth His praises. Praise pleases God. As wonderful as faith is and the great accomplishments it brings, faith is not as potent as praise. While faith draws on God's faithfulness, praise draws on God's personality. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).God is pleased, so He moves to honor faith. But when God is pleased with praise, He comes down in person. God's faithfulness is triggered off by faith, while praise compels His presence. When God is pleased, exploits explode and we no longer live the ordinary life. Everything begins to answer to us in our business, career and Family. Miracles, signs and wonders begin to answer to us.
It's time to mean business with God! When God is pleased, anything can happen. So if we want to see something happen in our life, business and Family? All we need to do is just please Him with our praises. We need to acknowledge Him. We need to appreciate and acknowledge from our hearts every act and favor of God. A law of life is that every favor we do not appreciate God for depreciates, and every blessing whose source we don't acknowledge, disappears. We are not to take God's faithfulness for granted. When we do, we will be grounded! We are to always acknowledge that He did it all. Each time we see very strange acts, quickly acknowledge, "This is purely the hand of God!" For every little increase we see in our business, we are to sing praises to Him and even dance, dance and dance before Him! And He will just keep dazing us with His blessings. We can see and acknowledge Him for what He has done, we provoke Him to do more. His word is unchanging:
We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them. You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. Psalm 44:1-5
We are to be grateful! We can never be fruitful except when we are grateful. Every seed sown in ingratitude falls on the rock and has no future. When we refuse to see God’s hand, we frustrate Him and compel Him to stop blessing us. We are to praise Him for the abundance of all things! Every mountain before us can be leveled. But all we need is to maintain a high frequency of praise and a sense of gratitude. We are not to complain for everyone who complains ends up a convict, but every singing and jumping saint stays on top as a celebrity. There is everything to praise Him for. Everyone who lives in complaint lives in defeat; but he who lives in praise, lives in victory. We must make our choice to give Him thanks or complain! But God’s word is unchanging:
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, Psalm 92:1-2
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
After every act of God, He waits on the other side for an acknowledgement from us. This shows that God keeps record of our activities. Every act of His that is not acknowledged disqualifies us from receiving further blessings. And perfection is obtainable through praise. The bible tells us of ten lepers who were cleansed, but only the one that returned to give thanks was made whole. At every point in our life, we need to learn to say, "Thank You, Jesus." At every turn of event, we need to learn to say, "Praise the Lord." By doing this, we are getting ourselves set for amazing changes.
The force of thanksgiving was what lifted Lazarus out of the grave, where he had been dead and stinking for four days. It was by the same mystery that five loaves and two fishes multiplied to feed five thousand men, with twelve baskets-full gathered as leftovers! We are seeing such manifestations also in our days. No matter what valley we are trapped in, praise will raise us out of it. If our hands are not lifted up to God in praise and thanksgiving, we might die in the pit. Praise is our only way to keep staying at the top. God’s word is true:
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19
Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. Psalm 113:1,7-8
An angel can be waylaid, stranded or stopped on the way, but who can stop the Almighty? There is a continuous conflict in the heavenlies, between God's angels and Satan's angels. That is why angels can be stopped. But God can't be stopped. No force can stand in His way. That is why nothing can stand the power coming forth from our praises.
Every prayer requires angelic involvement for it to be fulfilled. For instance, when Peter was in prison in Acts 12, the Bible records that "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." In response to that prayer, God sent an angel down with the answer:
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. Acts 12:7-10
Whatever will take God only calls for praise. That is praise-warfare. When praise is in place, His presence is compelled, for He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In praise-warfare, we don't get emotionally excited. Rather, we look at the mountains before us and bring them down with praise. Praise is a God-given weapon in our hands, with which to humiliate Satan. It is the price to pay in order to transfer any battle from our hand to God's hand. When we enter into the realm of high praise, none of our enemies are safe anymore. When we switch over to praise-warfare, there will be a crashing down of every wall of Jericho in our life.
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20
Praise-warfare disarms our enemies, such as sickness, poverty, lack, failure, etc. When we give thanks and sing praises unto His name, Psalm 92:11 becomes a reality in our life: Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
God inhabits the praises of His people, and that is the ultimate in victory. His presence is our greatest spiritual asset as believers, and praise is the price we pay to get it. God's presence is our guarantee for maximum security against all the woes of life. No opposition or obstacle can withstand His presence. God's presence mocks barriers and puts us above circumstances; it confers on us more honor and dignity than any earthly status can, so that doors open before us just like they would before Him.
Praise will grant us access into the hurt-free zone of life, because God's presence automatically dispels evil. His eyes are too pure to behold evil, so evil can't be present where God is present. He dwells in the light that no man can approach unto (1Timothy 6:16). This is what makes praise a superior weapon of warfare in the conflicts of life. Whatever God has not planted, but which is growing in our life, Family, business, finance, children, etc, can be uprooted by the invocation of praise. From today, as we "praise at" whatever "tares" the enemy has sown in our life, God will step in and uproot them by Himself. If somebody says, "I should be married by now." Praise Him for that state, and you'll soon be married. Another says, "I should have a job by now." Praise Him and the job will be yours. There is no shut prison door that praise cannot shatter!
No one can stop God when He comes on the scene; so it is wisdom to switch Him on. He is Almighty and Omnipotent! Praise is one of the most potent weapons in spiritual warfare; though it appears very cheap, it brings the Almighty on the scene. When He takes over our battles, we become a relaxed winner. Whatever force is holding down any of our redemptive rights will bow as we praise God in a dance. David danced with all his might before the Lord and everything that mocked Him (including his wife) came under God's judgment (2 Samuel 6:14-23). Everything mocking us today will come under heaven's judgment as we too dance with all our might before Him. We can dance our way into our long-awaited covenant marriage, career and peace in the home!
Praise is God's natural habitat; whereas the devil naturally inhabits sorrow. So, we are to give the devil no place in our life by giving in to sorrow. The enemy won't take us for a ride anymore!
Sorrow and broken-heartedness thrive on the past, concentrating on failures, mishaps, missed opportunities, insults and assaults. But a life of joy on the contrary focuses on the future. It is full of expectation for a bright and better tomorrow. Many people expect good things, but very few believe that it will come to pass. Fewer still, focus on their expectations, so they are dragged back by the past and stranded by the things of the present. We can stay joyful because:
* God is always right.
* God is ever faithful.
* If God can’t do it, then no one else can. If God cannot, no one else should try. He is the end of human search.
It doesn’t matter where we are today, God has marked out a colourful future for us. We are not to sell off to sorrow, nor t give in to broken-heartedness. Everything that looks like a downward trend today is an upward thrust in disguise. That situation that looks like a stumbling block today is only a stepping stone to our next phase of glory. God’s word is unchanging:
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Romans 4:20
EXTRACT FROM Let God Arise
http://walthope.tripod.com/arise.htm
http://walthope.wordpress.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100302133262254344211/posts
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