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Praise Be To God!

By Bobbie Jean Merck

          The revelation of victory throughout the Bible is founded upon the true premise that God was with them and for them.  That is absolute!  The expected and hoped for victory and lasting success were the harvested conclusion.  The conclusion was and is His will, plan, purpose, and expected end for their lives and so shall it be for our lives.

          What a God and what a dream!  The truth of this gives one great reason, confidence, and strength for our number seven principle of praising the Lord if we intend to remain encouraged.  He is God and our Lord Who deserves continued praise and thanksgiving from us! 

           “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah”   (Psalm 68:19).

          This word promises us daily help from our God.  We have to ask Him and believe that He does and will help us.  We are not asking an idol that we have made with our own ideas and hands who neither hears nor sees.  We are looking to Almighty God Who never fails us.

           I love His Name God Almighty.  He gave this name to Abraham when He was making covenant with him.  El Shaddai is the Hebrew for God Almighty.  Some of its meanings are the All Bountiful, All Sufficient One; the Dispenser of  benefits!  Shaddai is derived from a Hebrew root meaning ‘to heap benefits’.  What an encouragement, joy, and reason to praise the Lord.

           The ash heap and the dung hill are over (finished on Calvary)  for the believer who is redeemed.  Psalm 113:7,8 says, “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 113:7, 8).  All glory, honor, and praise to God!

           No more ash heap and dunghill for us.  Yes, we are raised up together and He has made us to sit together in heavenly places in (with) Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah!  Did you notice that we are together?  We (the Body of Christ) are “together”.  Together!

           “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger”  (Psalm 8:2).

            Praise will “still” the avenger (our adversary).  To still means to cause our enemy to stop, to cease, to fail, to vanish and to be done away with.  Praise is our mighty weapon of warfare.

          Praise falls under the category of God’s glory and our honor.  It is an honor to be able to praise the Lord (and our praise honors Him).  With honor comes promotion.  Therefore, praise will promote us as the favor of God is released upon us through and by our praise.  For “…those who honor him will have all they need”  (Psalm 34:9  NLT).

           Acts 16: 25-31 reveals to us that praise activates miracles and praise opens doors for souls to be saved. 

          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.   And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house  (Acts 16:25-31).

           The Word of God is filled with examples of miracles and salvation resulting from praise.  Praise is the key that unlocks the heart of God and the believing–praiser and people. Therefore, praise spreads the glorious Gospel.

            Praise is the expression of great faith.  When you are praising God you cannot be speaking doubt and unbelief thereby canceling your prayers, confessions, and expectancy of faith.  “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth”  (Psalm 34:1).

           Consider Psalm 13:5, 6.  “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.  I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.”

            When we believe His Word we will sing His praise at all times!  “Then believed they his words; they sang his praise”  (Psalm 106:12). 

            Years ago I learned these two powerful principles. 

      One:  When discouragement tries to overtake you, start reading at Psalm 135 through  Psalm 150.  You will experience the joy of the Lord and encouragement rising mightily within you. 

             Two:  The beauty and power of Psalm 119:171.  “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.”   “…utter praise…”  literally means praise shall bubble forth from deep within and through your lips.  I thought of carbonation as when one drinks a carbonated drink.  Perhaps this may seem uncouth, but one ‘burps’ from the build-up of carbonation within.  Likewise, so it is with the ‘build-up’ of God’s Word and revelation within you.  Your mouth will be a mouth of continual praise and thanksgiving to God.  Never one of doubt, unbelief, and negativism.  You might say, such a mouth is a mouth of God’s LOVE!

            You can’t be sad and discouraged when you praise the Lord.  “Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him.  You will enjoy what you work for.  You will be blessed with good things”  (Psalm 128:1, 2 TEB).  Wow!  Happy!  Encouraged!  Strengthened!  Comforted!  Assured!  What a lifestyle!

            When you praise the Almighty God, the Holy Spirit will lead you from a barren and fruitless situation to a place of blessing.  You will be like Paul.  “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God”  (Acts 20:24).

            “All who seek the Lord will praise him.  Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy”  (Psalm 22:26 NLT).

            The more we seek the more we find, and the key to “finding” is praise.          Praise establishes God’s dominion, rule, and reign! Let’s just praise the Lord and therein live a life of being encouraged! Amen.

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