If there is one thing I have learnt through life’s ups and down’s, it is the power of praise. If you need a victory, if you need supernatural ability and grace to show up, then instead of focusing on the situation, start to praise!. Why? Because God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).
The most common method for the devil to attack us is to bring discouragement, negativity, hopelessness, and despair into our lives. These things can paralyze us, in an effort to get our eyes off God.
But God has a key to victory against discouragement, it’s called Praise.
God has “established praise because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger”. (Psalm 8:2). When you are feeling discouraged, downcast, burdened and just “under” your circumstances, God says Praise, because it silences the devil and his work.
We are to resist the devil, and He will flee (James 4:7). You may not know how to do much, you may not feel like doing much, but there is power to lift burdens and cause God to come on the scene when we take our eyes off the problem and start to praise. Praise secures our victory and unburdening.
If your spirit is heavy put on “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness“, (Isaiah 61:3). That may be difficult but it works as we exchange our heavy spirit for a garment of praise.
Praise will secure your release. There is a story in the bible in Acts 16:25-26 where Paul and Silas were arrested for speaking about Jesus. They were put into the inner part of the prison and fastened in chains. Now if anybody had a reason to be downcast these guys did. They had been mistreated, beaten, chained and imprisoned. Yet what did they do? They started singing. That’s right, they were singing praises to God. Suddenly the whole jail shook and the prison doors swung open.
Whatever prison, bondage, habit, discouragement, addiction or situation you find yourself in, begin to praise. It silences the enemy, brings God on the scene, secures our release and delivers supernatural ability and empowerment.
If you get stuck praising look at Psalm 146. It covers every aspect of verbal praise: to extol, bless, praise, declare, meditate, speak, utter, sing and make known God’s promises. God promises that He will uphold, and raise up those who are bowed down. He will provide, be near to all who call on Him, that he will hear your cry and save you and preserve you.
So switch on your stereo, ipod, etc and put on some music that shouts out God’s goodness and start praising.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in theLord their God,
6who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 146)