Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Praise Changes Things

by Donna L. Watkins

Have you spent much time in the Psalms? If you've had times of sorrow, grief and disappointments of life, you've surely dwelled in the Psalms of the Bible.

© Donna L. Watkins - Purple Coneflower
David was a man after God's own heart and his Psalms show us that God's love for us doesn't bring all happy and sunny days of life. Jesus told us that in this life we would have trouble and you don't have to look far to find somebody buried in it.

The Psalms are so real! David is so honest! Many of them begin with what I call whining to the Father. David pours out his sorrows and begs for God to change circumstances and to remove or give him victory over his enemies .... and then as his Faith takes over, he rolls right into praising his Papa God and ends with his own victory over the battle regardless of the circumstances.

God knows we are human. We can whine and cry on His lap, but let's make sure we receive His comfort and we stir up the Faith He has given us to praise Him and we will be lifted above the circumstances.

Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me." (John 11:41)

Jesus said this before the miracle. His thanksgiving was before Lazarus was raised from the dead. Why would He thank God before? Praise is the most important prerequisite for miracles. It's the preparatory work! Miracles are performed through spiritual power and this power is always in proportion to the faith of the one looking for results.

Henry W. Frost said that "nothing pleases God more than praise as part of our prayer life, and nothing blesses someone who prays as much as the praise that is offered."

"It is good to praise the Lord." (Psalm 92:1)

It changes our whole outlook and it truly changes things. We can't only look for the exact results we're expecting because sometimes the right answer is not the one we want. The miracle may not be the removal of the problem.

We have many mountains in life that we have had to climb and it's easy to think that the mountains are blocking our views of what we see life to be. However, if you allow God His way with you, you will find that the mountains are truly the very thing we need for achievement. They've been allowed there as a means of producing the giftings and character qualities for which we've been hoping and praying for so long.

If we praise God for the ability to move those mountains, we will see them in a different way. God will not lead us to greatness by an easy and self-indulgent life. We will have difficulties as the Bible promises, but if we praise Him in the midst of them knowing they are our pathway to the life we truly desire, we will walk with a light load as we aim to get over those mountains.

David continually praised the Lord for what He was going to do and what He was doing even when he didn't see it happening. Spend some time in Psalms and be encouraged that you will receive power equal to your burden or task.

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© 2000-2007 Donna L. Watkins - This article was reprinted with permission. Visit the author's website, TheNatureInUs.com for more articles and free email subscription. Link URL: http://www.TheNatureInUs.com

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