Pathway To Peace....Day Ten...Praise

Day  Ten                    Praise

Praise is so easily given to our wonderful creator when times are good, but so very difficult when we find ourselves in the midst of a storm. One reason for this human weakness is our inability to see the growth that will result from our hardship, but the real reason we don’t learn to praise is we might never have allowed ourself to learn how.


I have such vivid, loving  memories of the formal routine in the worship service where I was raised. Several hymns were sung, prayers were offered, an offering plate was passed, some gifted singer or the choir shared a heartfelt song of praise, the preacher shared the word of God, an altar call was given, then in fellowship we talked and mingled with each other as we made our way out of the church. I watched and learned to revere God, and his word from those early lessons. He even gifted me with a meager voice, so I learned to praise my God in song as a part of many choirs as I grew.


I still praise God with my voice most. The music somehow overtakes my soul and fills my spirit with joy. As I sing to the Lord, it releases a part of me and allows the spirit to come reside in its place. True praise will do just that, as you praise God, he fills you with awe for who he is and what he can do with your weakness. Moses, Ezra, David, Peter, and John all experienced this awe of God when they praised him:

Exodus 15:11:

   ¹¹Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

1 Chronicles 16:25:

   ²⁵For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 43:4:

   ⁴Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

1 Peter 1:7:

   ⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Revelation 19:5:

   ⁵And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

Be careful when you praise correctly, for your heart is wide open to God’s glory. And as you rest in this wonderful peace and soak in its goodness you will begin to expand your understanding of worship. You will begin to let go of yourself, and express your joy in more than just song.

You will stand- stand in reverence, stand in awe, stand in fear of someone so holy. You will cry. Cry out in revelation, cry out in new insights, cry out in the mere mention of his holy name. You will pray. Pray for understanding, pray in humility, pray for guidance. You will be filled-filled with his goodness, filled with his peace, filled with his wisdom, filled with his spirit. You will know that the Lord God is God. He will inhabit you and give you peace, strength, and power as you have never known before. You will make a joyful noise to the Lord, and serve him with gladness.

Psalm 100

   ¹Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

   ²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

   ³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

   ⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

   ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Exodus 15:2:

   ²The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

I can’t get enough of this praise. I anxiously wait for Thursday night, when I worship and praise God at our Celebrate Recovery meeting, then I awake Sunday, excited to attend our early service at my church. I attend Sunday School, then worship again with our choir at the 11 o’clock service. Sunday night brings another great time of praise, that holds me till Wednesday night prayer meeting. And sometimes I even visit the Celebrate Recovery programs at sister churches on Friday and Tuesday.


I hope I someday learn to praise him without the building. To praise him in my quiet time is so different from the praise I feel at church. I want to someday feel his presence as I pray in my home just like I do at my church….or in a group of ladies lifting up requests of healing or deliverance at CR. God is there waiting…waiting for you to praise him…wherever you are…whatever you are doing. That praise….it has lifted me out of my depression…it has pushed me forward…out of my pain…and began a search for what he wants me to do with the lesson he is trying to teach me from it!