Bring On The Praise

It’s been a while since we’ve had a praise day and today is as good as any. Now some of you may be thinking, “I really don’t feel like I have it in me today.” That’s exactly the time you should just throw off whatever your problems or worries are, and enter into a time of worship. When we praise the Lord, blessings come down and our spirits are lifted. Breakthroughs happen, we can see our situations clearer and we come out refreshed and ready to move on with confidence.

In Luke 17, there’s a story about ten lepers. Leprosy was a terrible, contagious disease and those who had it were sheltered away from everyone. They were not allowed to live among people and had to call out, “Unclean” when they walked through the cities. Ten lepers met Jesus on His way to Jerusalem, keeping their distance. They had heard He could heal and asked Him to have mercy on them.

Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priest. On their way, they were healed. Can you imagine how happy they must have been to receive this miracle? Nine of them continued on to see the priest, but one turned back. He fell at the feet of Jesus and started praising God with a loud voice, thanking Him for what He had done. Jesus healed ten, but only one came back to say, “Thank You!” a foreigner, a Samaritan who was shunned by the Jews.

Jesus said something interesting to him. He said “Your faith has made you well.” This man’s act of praise showed Jesus his true faith and Jesus rewarded him for it. Imagine us praising God in the midst of the pandemic, sickness, depression, loneliness, doubt and fears. Imagine us, thanking Jesus in spite of how we feel, showing Him our true faith.

Have the walls or mountains seemed like they will never come down and change will never come? Praise God anyway! Remember, Jesus never fails. His promises still stand and He is so faithful. We know the night won’t last and He is still enough. So let your heart sing His praises. He can move those mountains and He can level those walls. He can make a way out of no way and you will see Him do that again and again.

Find your special place and dance like David did before Jesus. David danced naked shouting, jumping and waving his arms. He didn’t care who saw him or who heard him. His God would be praised. Perhaps David had songs going through his mind as he praised the Lord. One thing is certain: He was lost in the wonders of gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord.

Just like David and the Samaritan leper, we should express our gratitude, our praise and our thankfulness to the One who loved us so much that He was willing to give His life for us. If you can’t think of anything else to praise Him for, that is enough! So go get your praise on and shake the rafters with your praise.

“I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” Psalm 146:2, Psalm 98:4


“Bless the Lord, O my  soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” Psalm 103:1-6

Prayer

Lord,

I will bless You at all times; Your praise will continually be on my lips. From the rising of the sun to its setting Your name will be praised. My mouth will tell of Your righteous deeds, of Your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim Your righteous deeds, Yours alone. Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things. Who is like You? My lips will shout for joy  when I sing praise to you—I whom You have delivered. Amen!


Photo by Luis Quintero from Pexels

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