O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. :I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.(Psalms 63:1 - 8, NIV)
This tells us just about all we need to know about why we should praise God, why we need to praise him and how we should praise him. There is virtually nothing we can leave out of this extract: it is all crucial.
Why Praise God? Why do we need to praise? Because without God, life is an arid existence; having experienced him, there is no time of day, no condition of need, through which God cannot, should not, be praised.
Do we sometimes have difficulty praising God? Then, indeed, God will give us the grace to praise him if we seek it. Why? Because we need to praise him.
Why? Giving God the glory, which in any case, is his by right means that we are then able to call upon him in times of difficulty:
Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfil your vows to the Most High; Then call upon me in time of distress; I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me (Psalm 50. 14 - 15, NAB)
If we cannot appreciate the utter greatness of God, then we should praise him at least for selfish reasons. In this psalm, there follows a warning and a promise we shall do well to remember (vv 22, 23) . Those who forget God risk the possibility of finding themselves in situations from which they need rescue -- but it is the person who offers praise as a sacrifice who will find the help of God when they need it. If God forsakes us, who will rescue us?
Praise As Deliverance From Evil Moreover, praise is an instrument of our own deliverance from evil, a means through which we can be set free. It is not that praise is undertaken for that reason, but is, rather, an outcome of it, since Satan and his minions cannot stand to hear God being praised
The Israelites even went to war, and won their wars through praising God. For example, after consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendour of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever." In 2 Chronicles 20. 21, 22, we are told that, through their praise, God responded and the armies of Moab and Ammon, which were invading Judah, were defeated as the Israelites sang to and praised God. What a wonderful thing it would be to see our present day military leaders actively and openly praise God as they encounter the enemy!
Praise As God's Right Yet we do not praise God for what we can get out it, nor as a condescension to him. We praise God because it is his right. We have no right to withhold it, whatever our own situation, whatever our own problems and difficulties. Psalms 138: 2 advises us to praise the name of God because of his love and faithfulness,and because he has exalted his name and his word above all things. If God's name and word is exalted above all things, then there ican be no question as to praise being his right.
Praise is like love: an act of our will. Sometimes we shall feel moved to praise God. Fine! That always helps. But if we only praise God when and because we feel like it, the chances are that we shall not praise him very often. Moreover, praise is not just similar to love, it is, or should be, a willing, eager expression of our love. We might ask: how much does this or that individual love God? How can we know? It is very easy to see how much a person loves God, as against how much they love themselves: simply ask how much? how often? and fervently do they praise God? That is a completely reliable test.
Collective Praise We can, and should frequently, praise God on our own. But collective praise is also very important, when we come together with other like-minded Christians. Then problems can arise which do not occur when we praise God on our own. These are important because the principles we follow in collective praise can either improve and focus it or hinder and make it more difficult for others to join in and keep their minds fixed on God.There are several good points to observe here, bearing both on what we should and should not do.
DO' s 1. When we praise God it is helpful to allow various elements to be present. A praise period can include songs, vocal praise, Bible readings, words received as prophecies or words of knowledge and tongues and interpretations of tongues (1 Cor 14).
2. There is a great advantage in not having a praise leader. The Holy Spirit is always the best praise leader. But it is essential for everyone to remain open to him and only to contribute what he is moving us to contribute. As in our private prayer, the Holy Spirit is our Pray-er. Hence we should be very careful not to move against him.
We might recall that Ephesians 6:18 which tells us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. It can take a lot of courage to leave a meeting open to the Spirit, especially for those with responsiblity for calling it. But the rewards of being led by the Spirit are considerably greater than any human leader can achieve.
We should have a holy fear of making any contribution which does not come directly from the Spirit; and an equally holy fear of not making any contribution which comes directly from the Spirit.
3. Collective praise means everyone praising. All those present should be involved, because non-participants have a restricting influence on the praise. Paul tells us that, when we
come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26, NIV)
Moreover, others depend on each individual being led by, and responsive to, the Holy Spirit. If this is so, participants will clearly discern the message which God is giving; if this is not observed, the result will be a confusion of words and messages.
In collective praise, we have a great responsibility to one another: our failure to concentrate or be responsive to the Spirit will result in: (a) our misleading others as to what God is telling them, or (b) our blocking what God is trying to say.
4. Different physical positions are often regarded as more appropriate for given kinds of prayer (e.g. sitting for meditation). To be on one's feet is usually the most appropriate position for giving God praise. Sitting is often too relaxed. (Physical capabilities and health must always be taken into account, of course).
DON'Ts 1. Do not break silences for the sake of it. They are crucial. You may not be hearing God at that time, but others might. Equally, do not be fearful of breaking a silence if you feel God is so indicating.
2. Intercessions have no place in praise. The purpose of praise is to give glory to God, not to pray for our needs or the needs of others. That can come at the end of a meeting -- when it is clear and evident that the praise period is over.
3. If you can avoid it, don't use phrases like "Can we sing number thirty?" if song sheets are being used. It interrupts the flow of praise and the continuing sense of God's presence. Just start singing it or, at most, say the page or number.
4. Don't start songs you cannot finish.Perhaps no 0ne else can continue it either. That also interrupts the flow.
The foregoing are not rules. They are suggestions which come from years of experience and which will generally be found to enhance a period of praise, and will help to make us more open to what God is saying. Not of least significance, when each participant is of like mind and intention and listening to the Spirit, they will also be an important means of promoting cohesion and a greater sense of fellowship within a group or community.
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