
June 27, 2024
Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
- 2nd Chronicles 20:20-22
In thanksgiving, as we saw yesterday, we are grateful to God, and we honour Him. In praise, we are boastful in the sovereignty and might of God. We brag about God and magnify Him. We acclaim God loudly for Who He is. We should push past perfunctory praises as a mindless “step” in our prayers and get to the place of really meaning what we are communicating to God.
As we praise God, long standing issues and difficulties are automatically judged and removed because in that very moment, we choose to focus our gaze and admiration on God rather than magnifying an issue or situation. In Psalms149:6 praise is likened to a two-edged sword and a mighty weapon of warfare that guarantees victory. In praise, we summon issues into the court of God and bring God into the situation and as a result judgement is released against such situation.
As we praise God, long standing issues and difficulties are automatically judged and removed because in that very moment, we choose to focus our gaze and admiration on God rather than magnifying an issue or situation.
We can draw inspiration for our praise from the Bible, and what it tells us about God. We can also draw on our own experiences and recall how God has moved in our lives in the past. What attributes of God have you experienced in your life? Praise Him in that dimension. This is your testimony, and testimonies are an important form of praise.
David did this in the presence of Goliath. He recounted how God helped him kill a lion and a bear, and so he was confident beyond any doubt that God was able to grant him victory against Goliath. We should be intentional about taking count of what God has done for us in the past. When we do this, our connection to God deepens and our faith is stirred up to trust God again.
As we saw in our anchor scripture today, this leads to mighty deliverances—God arises and fights on our behalf. And as you know, every battle He fights, He wins! Praise The Lord!
Song of Worship
Yours is the praise
Mine is the victory
Satan defeated, Yours is the praise
Prayer - Dear Lord, we worship You for Who you are and we thank You for Your numerous wonderful works in our lives. As we praise You, be magnified.
Bible in 1 year: Job 8-10