Reinhard
23 Prayer and Praise
Prayer and praise go together! Psalm 100 says to: ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
As exemplified in the Lord’s Prayer, we start and end our prayer time with praising God. In the beginning, we hallow or exalt His Name. At the end we say, ‘For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen’
We know that God inhabits the praises of His people.
Ps 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
We are strengthened as we rejoice in the Lord.
Neh 8:10c; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Verbally praising God was part of the early church in the book of Acts. It still should be integral to our Christian life:
Acts 2:46-47 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
As we delight ourselves in the Lord, we are promised that God will give us the desires of our heart!
Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Praise brings victory in battle!
2 Chr 20:19-22 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high 20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Praising God was instrumental in having God’s blessing, healing and prosperity.
2 Chr 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
As Christians, we are under a better covenant than the Old Testament. We can claim God’s healing for our lives as we praise and worship God!
2 Chron 30:20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
We can claim God’s joy as we praise and worship God!
2 Chron 30:26-27 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.
We can claim God’s prosperity as we praise and worship God!
2 Chron 31:21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
The priests in the Old Testament made verbal praise a part of their worship.
Neh 9:5b-6 Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Throughout the Old Testament, verbally praising God was part of worship. They were magnifying how great God is!
Jer 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
As Christians, we praise God for His right and fair treatment toward us! We praise the Lord Jesus Christ for the power that is His Name!
Ps 7:17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.
We praise God with our whole heart! We speak that the Name of Jesus is high above all over. We thank God for giving us the right to use the Name of Jesus in prayer and in commanding the works of the enemy to leave!
Ps 9:1-2 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Ps 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Ps 150:1-6 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Joel 2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Hab 3:18-19 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Under the New Covenant, which we have after Jesus Christ paid for our sins on the cross, praise is still an important part of our worshipping God.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Luke 19:37-38 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
Rom 15:11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.