Welcome to Weekly Topic Saturdays!
Hello all, I pray that your week was filled with joy and love. Welcome back to those who have been with me here at A Golden Dream. For my first-timers, a great big hello there, if you haven't already please check out my previous posts when you get a chance.
Please don't hesitate to join the conversation, there are no right or wrong answers or questions. I'm not proclaiming to know everything, I am simply just discussing and picking topics on things that I personally have gone through and that I know would help someone.
“If someone were to pass out, the first thing we’d do is check their pulse to see if their heart is still beating. In the same sense, checking our praise lives is how we check our spiritual pulse. If we don’t live lives that are constantly giving thanksgiving and praise unto God, we are not spiritually healthy. Some people may take offense at that, thinking I just don’t know their situations. But Paul said in Philippians 4:4—
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”
-Andrew Wommack
Who is like you, LORD God Almighty? You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you
Psalm 89:8
Praise is a Weapon
Praise should be our most powerful weapon of choice. Are you a believer that praise changes things? Just like a prayer, praise is something that only happens in the spiritual realm of things. Anytime you don't have to have a physical object as a means of defense, but rather, something that can do more damage than an actual object; like praise can, then you're really doing some damage. Now, this is something we can talk about.
This brings me to the story of Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, thrown into an inner prison, shackled, and bound. The bible continues saying,
At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s shackles were loosened.
Acts 16:25-26
Even though all that pain, trauma, and fear, they didn't let their situation change how they felt about God. Their hearts and minds were fixed on God and singing his praises anyhow.
When you're going through the pains of life, Do you still give God the praise he deserves?
Our immediate response when situations hit the fan should be to praise God. I'm speaking to YOU and MYSELF too. Quite frankly, when life gets bad I immediately call my best friend and 1st lady and I’m like, I can’t do this. It’s really hard to go through a storm and praise God like nothing is wrong. It’s hard to be happy and think happy thoughts when your whole life is a mess. I know. But the bible says,
Let everything that hath breath praise the lord
Praise the Lord.
Psalm: 150:6
We are just going to have to adjust and just do it. Get on our knees, and praise God in advance. Put on some shouting music and go to town putting them up and placing them down. Let me break it down real quick, what we not finna do is argue on what the bible says. Everything that has breath must praise God. This means Birds, Animals, Insects, everything. They must do what is pleasing to God because that is what he ordained them to do.
What is Praise?
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Psalm 150:1-6
By a show of comments, how many know what praise is? How many know the different ways there are to praise? Praise can be defined as the act of expressing approval, or admiration; it is the offering of grateful homage in various acts of worship to God. In order to praise God, it first begins with an understanding of who God is based upon God’s words. When we praise and worship God we are showing him that we are thankful and grateful for all that he does and will continue to do. When we praise God we must reverence and respect his word so that true knowledge can be bestowed on us.
How many believe that there is only one way to praise God? Many believe that the only way to praise God is through prayer which is not true. We can praise the lord through poetry, song, prayer, liturgical dance, mime, musical instruments, shouting, quietness, waiting, and so much more. When you are doing it to give God the glory, then you are praising God.
Praise Gets God’s Attention!
My salvation and my honor depend on God[a];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge
Psalms 62:7
In today’s society, there is so much going on especially this year. It feels like there has been a whole decade worth of events happening in one year. It is so easy to get so caught up in everyday life that we can tend to forget about God and everything that he has done for us. I know that in the midst of everything it can seem like God can’t hear our praise, but that is not the case. The world around us is so negative, and it feels like everyday unholy things are becoming more and more present. It is to the point now that we have to make a conscious effort to be positive and a great tool that can help us do that, is praise.
When we praise God no matter what the circumstance is, it gets his attention and he is able to hear us. God inhabits the praises of his people and he becomes pleased when people look past their environment to see things through faith.
Praise “Fixes” Your Mind Only On God
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Praising God centers our focus on where it is supposed to be and that is on the Lord our God. When life starts throwing us those curveballs, and we are put in tough situations; our first response should be to say things like “Lord, I thank you,” “Hallelujah, God,” or “God, if it were not for you…”. Our first response should be to focus on God and all his glory.
When we are going through bad situations, if we begin to praise God in the midst of those circumstances then our focus on God becomes stronger, and the problem that we are faced with loses strength. Our situations become an afterthought when we are praising God, and thanking him for all that he does, has done, and will continue to do in our lives. In doing so, we are showing God that we trust and believe in him. We are telling him that he is sufficient and worthy to be the focal point in our lives because no situation or problem is greater than he.
Things Begin To Shift When Praises Go Up
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
By a show of comments, how many know the saying, “when praises go up, blessings come down?” How many know the saying, and also know it to be true? It is not enough to just say that you love God, or say that you will pray, you have to be willing to put action behind it. For example, let’s say that your boss comes over to you and says that he will give you a raise, but he does not follow through with actually doing it. You become disappointed. That is exactly how God feels when we give him empty praise. He does not want your praise out of obligation, he wants it because it is something that you want to do for yourself. If you send up empty praises to God, it disappoints him. When you praise God genuinely and sincerely the atmosphere changes and God is able to come in and bestow gifts upon you. God is able to shower you with his love and grace freely.
Praising Confuses Your Adversary
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Hebrews 13:15
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Everyone on this Earth has one common adversary and that is Satan. Satan has made it his number one goal to steal, kill, and destroy. The devil knows that he is no match for God and his power, which is why Satan is reduced to using trickery and lies to get what he wants. The Devil is waiting for you to slip, for your belief to waver, for times to get hard, or for you to be vulnerable so that he can sweep in and wreak havoc. Don’t give up and don’t give in. By continually offering up our praises and gratitude, it weakens the Devil. When you praise God it shows that you have faith and that you believe in what God has planned for you. When you have faith and a strong and unshakeable foundation in God’s word there is no room for the Devil to come in and play his games. The praise we give manifests victory, in fact, it is the assurance that the outcome will always be a glorious victory in the eyes of the Lord.
Questions To Consider:
Do you praise God every day? Why or why not? If not, when do you find yourself giving honor and praise to him the most?
Is it hard for you to praise God when trouble arises?
When you're going through the pains of life, Do you still give God the praise he deserves?
With Love, praise and prayer are what we do when we want to get close to God. It is declared in the bible that everything and everyone that has breath should praise God at all times. Remember praising God is not a “Sunday-only” kind of thing. It is something that we should vow to do no matter what we are going through because at the end of the day we owe everything we are to him.
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.