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The Priority of Praise · CCC West Covina

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Every one of us has a favorite time of the year, favorite month
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of the year in which we appreciate more than other
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times. Mine happened to be the the last
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two months of the year, both November and December.
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It's it's all about the celebration of what takes place
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in those months. And when you, you think about
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all the, all, the, all the songs that are sung and all the sights
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that are seen and even the smells of the holiday season are
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unique and special. And so we embark on a time of
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the year where the whole world basically is involved in some
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kind of celebration when it comes to Thanksgiving and
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Christmas. But the believers celebration is
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different. It's, it's, it's unique in, in
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that the believer celebration is, is based on three key
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components. It's based on #1A contemplation.
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The reason we are to celebrate the Christ is because we
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contemplate him, we meditate upon Him, we think only of Him,
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and we recognize that the season is all about Him.
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So our celebration consists of a contemplation.
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Outside of that, it consists of a consideration and the word to
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consider is a is a mathematical term where where whereby you add
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up all the facts and come to the right conclusion.
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And so as we contemplate this great God that we serve, we
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begin to consider all that he does and all that he is by
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adding up all the facts of of everything about his being and
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his works. And we celebrate him.
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And that contemplation leads to a consideration which leads to a
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commemoration, that is, we under understand who Christ is and we
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remember all that he has done, which allows our celebration to
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be that which is beyond what the world gives because it honors
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and glorifies the name of Christ.
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And when you commemorate someone, you remember them.
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And it's so important for us to do that.
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The Bible says in second Dividey 28, Paul says to Timothy
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remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from
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the dead, which is my gospel. Why would Paul tell Timothy to
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remember Jesus? Had Timothy forgotten about
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Jesus? No, Timothy's a pastor, he's not
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going to forget about Jesus. But you have to understand what
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it means when the Bible says to remember something.
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It's it's simply means that you are to pay very close attention
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so that you can act wisely and fulfill your commitment.
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So when Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, he's
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telling him to, to to pay very close attention to the Christ so
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that in your ministry you can act wisely and fulfill your
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commitment. You can say the same thing about
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Jonah when Jonah was in the belly of the fish.
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It says that Jonah said to do that.
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Jonah remembered the Lord and he offered up a voice of
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Thanksgiving to God. Now, did Jonah forget about the
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Lord? No.
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The reason he was in the belly of the fish was because of the
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Lord. I mean, he was going the
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opposite way of Nineveh. Everything that he was doing in
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rebellion was against the Lord. He didn't forget the Lord, but
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he had to pay very close attention to the Lord he served
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so that he could act wisely and make the right decision.
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So when he remembered the Lord, he lifted his voice in
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Thanksgiving to God. Same is true with with Solomon
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when he told his son Rayabom remember your Creator in the
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days of your youth. Not that Rayabom would have
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forgotten about his Creator. That's not the point.
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The point is, pay very close attention to the One who created
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you while you're young, because the evil days are coming.
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And if you pay very close to Him now, pay very close attention to
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Him now. You will act wisely.
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You'll fulfill your commitment so that when the evil days come,
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you'll be able to stand. The believers had this great
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celebration of the Christ on a continual basis, not just at
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Thanksgiving and at Christmas. We have this continual
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celebration because of this contemplation upon the Christ,
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this consideration of the Christ, and this commemoration
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about the Christ. That's why our celebration is so
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unique. And so when we pay very close
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attention to remembering Christ, what are we remembering?
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Well, one, you remember his works, listen what the Bible
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says. First Corinthians 11/24.
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Christ said, do this in remembrance of me speaking about
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the Lord's table. When you when you partake of the
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Lord's table, you do this in remembrance of me.
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You are reminded of the fact that my work on Calvary's cross
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is that what saves you? Over in Psalm 7711 it says I
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will remember the works of the Lord.
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Psalm one O 3. Excuse me.
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Psalm one O 5 verse #5 Remember his marvelous works.
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Psalm 139, verses 13 to 14 talk about the fact that we were
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created and wonderfully made, and we need to remember that we
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were made specifically by God. So we are to remember the works
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of God, but we're also to remember the ways of God.
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Deuteronomy 8 verse #1 says remember that the Lord your God
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LED you all this way. Important for Israel to remember
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what God had done, that God had brought them to where they were.
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They were on the edge of the promised land, and they were
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there because God had LED them all the way.
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That's what God had done. That's why the psalmist says in
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Psalm 1830, As for God, thy way is perfect.
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God doesn't have imperfect ways. He's only got perfect ways and
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so we are to pay very close attention to the ways of God.
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So that allows us to act decisively and fulfill our
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commitment to him when we look at his ways and his works.
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The reason we don't remember the ways of God is because we are
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all about our ways and the Bible says there is a way would seem
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with the right into the way. There is a way that steameth
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right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death,
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not life. We forget that.
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So not only do we remember the works of God and the ways of
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God, it's imperative that we remember the word of God.
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Psalm 11952 I will remember thine ordinances from old and
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comfort myself. Psalmist knew that his comfort
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would come because he paid very close attention to the
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ordinances of God and then would act wisely and fulfill his
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commitment to God, and then he received the comfort of God.
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Comfort doesn't come to those who disobey the word of God, it
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comes to those who obey the word of God.
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That's why Christ in John 1520, remember the word that I said
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unto you. And the Bible says in Acts 2035,
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remember the words of our Lord Jesus when he said it's more
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blessed to give than it is to receive.
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And then of course Psalm 1/19/16, the psalmist says I
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will not forget your words. So that commemoration that
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enables us to celebrate the Christ is all about remembering
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the works of God, the ways of God, the Word of God, and even
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the wonders of God. Listen to what the Bible says,
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Psalm 7711. Surely I will remember your
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wonders of old. There's one thing to remember
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the works of God. There's another to remember the
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wonders of God. What's the difference?
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Listen to what the Bible says. Psalm one O 5 verse #5 Remember
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his wonder. Psalm 111 verse #4 He has made
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his wonders to be remembered. Psalm 98 verse #1 O sing to the
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Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things.
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The difference is, is that in Isaiah 96, it says His name
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shall be called wonderful. So when you remember the wonders
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of God, you're remembering the God behind all the works that he
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performs. And the Bible tells us that we
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do remember those things. And as believers, that's what we
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do Why? Because the Bible says that the
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people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my
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praise. Isaiah 4321.
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That's our theme verse for our topic, The pathway to praise God
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made it very clear that those people that I formed for me,
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they will declare my praise. Well, if that's the case, the
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reason we do that is because we remember our God, we remember
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Jesus Christ, we remember our creator and we give glory to his
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name. Our our lives are consumed with
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that. And so we have looked at at the
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privilege of praise. We've looked at the prophet of
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praise. We've looked at the people of
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praise last week. It was a prerequisite of praise
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this week. It's about the priority of
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praise. Praise is the priority of the
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believer. It's something that's always,
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ever present in his life. It's something that rings
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supreme or reigns supreme in his life because he wants to give
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praise to his God. He's been created to give praise
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to God. And so let me give you 6
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principles that will help you understand why praise is our
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priority. It will help you as you journey
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along the pathway to praise. Principle number one is this.
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Praise is that which escorts us into God's presence.
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Praise is that which escorts us into God's presence.
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Listen to the Psalmist Psalm 100.
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Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth.
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Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful
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singing. Know that the Lord Himself is
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God. It is He who has made us and not
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we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
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of His pasture. Enter His gates with
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Thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
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Give thanks to Him, bless his name.
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Enter his courts with Thanksgiving and enter his gates
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with praise. The psalmist is speaking about
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the the temple where the presence of God, the glory of
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the Lord would would reside. That's that's where the Lord
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would dwell among his people. This song was made very clear
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that when you enter into the presence of God, you enter in
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with shouts of praise and Thanksgiving to God.
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You enter His courts with praise.
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You enter His gates with Thanksgiving.
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Why? Because it escorts you into the
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presence of God. Now we know that God is
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omnipresent, right? We know that God is everywhere
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at the same time, and there's no place that God is not there.
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He's everywhere. He's omnipresent.
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It's, it's incomprehensible for us to understand that we can't
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get that. But he's everywhere.
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But we don't have a temple we go to, we don't enter into courts
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and gates with praise because our body is a temple of the Holy
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Spirit. God dwells within us, right?
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So the very fact that praise is that which escorts us into the
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presence of God. In other words, praise is that
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which allows us to enter into communion with him in such a way
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that it brings glory to His name.
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You know, how many times do we feel far away from God or we
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think that God's nowhere around Israel was always that way?
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They were always wondering, where is God?
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How come He's not here to help me?
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What happened? Is he not listening?
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Does He not care? Of course He does.
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He's everywhere. He thought I'm in the present.
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He's present with you now. But the reason you don't sense
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God's presence among you is because you refuse to enter that
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presence with praise. When you begin to praise Him and
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thank Him and glorify His name, all of a sudden you begin to
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realize that God is ever present with you.
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He's always there. He never left.
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It's, it's when you feel far away from God.
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It's you who moved, not God. You're trying to move away from
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him, but in all reality, he is ever present with you.
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Listen to Psalm 95. Psalm 95 says, Oh, come, let us
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sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the
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rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence
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with Thanksgiving. I'm going to shout joyfully to
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Him with salts. It's always about entering the
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presence of God with a certain attitude, a certain frame of
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mind, and that is the mind that is willing and ready to praise
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the true and living God. Because praise is that which
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escorts us into the presence of the living God.
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And once it that that praise escorts us into the presence of
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God #2 praise is that which is, is that which encompasses us in
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the protection of God. It encompasses us with the
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protection of God. For only in his presence are we
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protected. And so the Bible says, and
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excuse me, Psalm 18, David says these words verse #1 I love you,
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O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my
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fortress and my deliverer, my rock, my God, in whom I take
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refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
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I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am
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saved from my enemies. David knew that his salvation
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came because of God, the divine protection of God, and that's
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why he would call upon the name of the Lord.
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That's why he recognized that the Lord was worthy of praise,
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because God was his refuge, his rock, his fortress, his
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deliverer, his Savior, his bulwark, his shield.
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God was everything to him, and David recognized that in those
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years in which he journeyed away from Saul because Saul pursued
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him relentlessly, that God was his protector.
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In fact, if you go on and Psalm 18, it says these words later in
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verse #30 excuse me, ask for God.
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His way is blameless. The word of the Lord has tried.
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He's a shield to all who take refuge in him.
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For who is God but the Lord, and who is a rock except our God?
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The guy who girds me with strength and makes my way
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blameless. He makes my feet like Hinds feet
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and sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle so
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my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
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You have also given me the shield of your salvation, and
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your right hand upholds me, and your gentleness makes me great.
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You enlarge my steps under me and my feet have not slipped.
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David writing this after the years in which he fled from Saul
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and now he's king over Judah and king over Israel.
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He is, he is looking back and realizing that that God gave him
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the strength to bend the bow, that God gave him the strength
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to wield the sword, that God was the one who protected him and
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watched over him. So that at the end he says this
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in verse 46. The Lord lives, and blessed be
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my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, The God who
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executes vengeance for me and seduce my seduce peoples under
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me. He delivers me from my enemies.
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Surely you lift me above those who rise up against me.
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You rescue me from the violent man.
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Therefore excuse me. I will give thanks to you among
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the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to your name.
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I will give thanks to you. I will, I will sing praises to
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your name, oh God. Because you see, praise is that
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which encompasses us with the protection of the God of Israel.
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God is our protector, God's our provider, He's our shield.
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And so enter his presence with Thanksgiving and praise, and
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there there is nothing but protection from God.
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So we recognize that praise is a priority because it escorts me
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into the divine presence and it encompasses me with divine
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protection. And then thirdly, this is where
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it gets really, really good, as if it's not good already.
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This is where it gets really, really good.
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Praise elevates me to the divine perspective.
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Praise elevates me to the divine perspective, praises that which
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enables me to see what God is doing.
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It gives me a a, a clear perspective on the sovereignty
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and Providence of God being worked out in my life.
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Every one of us asked the question, God, what are you
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doing? Why has this happened this way
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and not that way? Why am I in this situation and
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not that situation? We always ask God those
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questions. And yet God is forever faithful,
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but when you praise Him, He, it elevates you to the divine
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perspective. Turn to the book of Habakkuk.
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The book of Habakkuk. He was a prophet in Israel.
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He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and he has some
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questions, a question that probably you and I would ask if
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we were living at that time. And the question simply was,
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Lord, why are you using the wicked Chaldeans to bring your
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people into captivity? Why would you use the wicked to
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come against your people, your chosen people, Israel?
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Why Lord? So in in chapter 1 of Habakkuk
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he he simply worries and he wonders what's going to happen
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to God's people. In chapter 2 he will wait and he
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will watch as God speaks. And then in chapter 3, he simply
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worships and witnesses for his God.
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What would change in the life of Habakkuk?
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The circumstances never changed. The circumstances would remain
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the same. God was still going to use the
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wicked Chaldeans, lead Israel into 70 years of Babylonian
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captivity. So what changed?
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Not the circumstances, but Habakkuk's perspective on the
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circumstances. When that changed, everything
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was all right. So he says this at the end of
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Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 16. I heard in my inward parts
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trembled earlier he says in chapter 3 verse #2 I have heard
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and report about you, and I fear God spoken in the back of
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tremble at the sound my lips quivered decay into my bones,
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and in my place I tremble because I must quietly or wait
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quietly for the day of distress. I've couldn't realize that I
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can't change what's going to happen.
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I've come to realize that the date of stress is going to come
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upon God's people. I've come to realize that that
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the wicked Chaldeans will move against us and take God's people
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into captivity. So because I must wait quietly
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for the date of stress for the people to arise who will invade
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us. Though the fig tree should not
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blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of
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the olive should fail and the fields produce no fruit, though
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the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle
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in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord.
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I will rejoice in the God of my salvation, for the Lord God is
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my strength and He has made my feet like Heinz feet, sure,
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steadfast, swift like a deer, and makes me walk on my high
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places back. His whole perspective changed.
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God has spoken, so he in effect remembered the word of the Lord.
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And he would, he would, he would act decisively because he paid
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very close attention to what God has said.
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And he realized that in praise it would elevate him to a divine
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perspective. He would be able to see things
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from God's point of view, and everyone of us needs to have
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that kind of perspective. We we think so logically that we
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can't think theologically. But biblicists think
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theologically because they think theocentrically.
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They think God's mind, God's thoughts, and the only way to do
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that is to be invaded by the Word of God, to be immersed in
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the Word of God, to know what God has planned and what God has
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said, to know the the works of God and the ways of God, the
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wonders of God, to know those things about God and and to
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realize that God is at work and God has a plan in the back of
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the prophet of God had to had to learn to wait upon the Lord and
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say, Lord, what are you doing? I don't get it.
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These are your people. And God would speak to him and
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God would show him what he was doing.
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And all of a sudden he, he would begin to lift his voice and
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praise to God. Why?
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Because he would see things from God's perspective.
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Listen, everything about life has to be seen from God's
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perspective. When you look at it through your
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lenses, from the human perspective, things look really,
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really bad. They look very, very good.
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Your health might not look very good to you.
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The doctor might say you're going to die next week.
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I don't know. From the human perspective, it
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doesn't look very good. But what's God's perspective?
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What's God's plan? What is God doing?
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And all of a sudden, even though you don't know what's happening,
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you begin to lift your voice and praise.
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You've entered his courts with Thanksgiving and praise, so
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you've entered into the divine presence of God, because praise
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escorts you into that presence. And then you realize that you
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are protected by that God whose presence you dwell within.
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And then all of a sudden you begin to see things from God's
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perspective because you begin to praise him all the more.
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That's why the Bible says, the people that I have formed for
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myself, they will declare my praise.
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Not that they might declare my praise or I hope they declare my
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praise. No, they will declare my praise.
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They're going to do this. And when you do, all of a sudden
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you are elevated to a whole new view, a whole new view because
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you see things from heaven's perspective that is just so
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important. God was at work.
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God was going to do something for Israel that the only way he
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could accomplish His feet was to get them into captivity for 70
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years. Yes, they were paying for the
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consequences of the sin, but God was doing the work in their
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lives to move them to, to anticipate the arrival of their
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Messiah. God had a plan for a whole
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nation, just like He has the plans for you individually.
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And God is working. And the next time you find
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yourself with man, what is happening, just lift your voice
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and praise to the Lord and shout joyfully into His name, and all
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of a sudden you'll begin to see things very clearly from the
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divine perspective. Praise escorts us into the
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divine presence. Praise encompasses us with
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divine protection. And praise is that which
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elevates us to the divine perspective #4 praise is that
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which enables us through divine power.
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Praise is that which enables us through divine power.
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You know the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of
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timidity, but a spirit of power, the presence of God's Spirit.
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In Acts chapter 1, the Lord said to his disciples, You shall
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receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you
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will be my witnesses. We forget that divine power
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resides within us and that God wants to enable us to perform
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under His power, and it's His strength that allows us to do
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the things He's commanded us to do.
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There are so many things that we think we can't accomplish, but
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God says you can because they've already equipped you with my
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spirit, and my spirit resides within you.
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The problem is we don't lift our voices in praise to God so that
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I'm able to understand the divine power within.
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Go back with me, if you would, to the book of Second Chronicles
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chapter 20. I've used this illustration
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before, but I think it's very pertinent to the point where
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King Jehoshaphat was very much afraid of the Moabites and
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Ammonites and Edomites that were coming upon the nation of
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Israel. The armies were innumerable to
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count, and rightly so. Jehoshaphat began to fear.
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So the Bible says in verse #2A great multitude is coming
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against you from beyond the sea, out of a ram, and behold
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therein. And Getty.
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Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the
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Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord.
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They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the
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Lord. Here was Jehoshaphat, the king
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of Israel, who realized his inability to handle this great
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army. He couldn't do it.
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His people were outnumbered. The skill of the enemy army was
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beyond Israel's skill, and he realized his inability to do
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anything. But soon because of the prophet,
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he recognized God's sovereignty. And it says, listen, all Judah
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verse 15 and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat
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thus says the Lord to you, do not fear or be dismayed because
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of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours.
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But gods, that's just such a great verse.
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Do not fear the multitude. Don't fear the fact that you are
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so outnumbered you have no chance because the battle is the
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Lord's. That's just so good.
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See, we're so busy fighting our own battles that we forget that
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the battle is the Lord's. So when do we lose?
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The battle is the Lord's. He goes on to say in verse #17
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You need not fight in this battle.
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Station yourself. Set yourself, watch, wait,
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stand, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf of Judah
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and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed.
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Tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you or it's
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with you. You can face this army.
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And so it says in verse #19 The Levites from the sons of the
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Coathites and the sons of the Korah heights stood up to praise
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the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.
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They rose early in the morning, and they went out to the
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wilderness of Toccoa. And when they went out,
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Jehoshaphat stood and said, Listen to me, O Judah and
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inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God,
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and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets
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and succeed. When he had consulted with the
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people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord, and those who
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praised Him in holy attire as he went out before the army and
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said, Give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness is
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everlasting. He responded obediently because
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of God's sovereignty amidst his inability.
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And what did they do? They begin to sing praises to
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God at the very end, it says in verse #26 Then on the 4th day
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they assembled in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed
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the Lord, and therefore they have named that place the valley
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of Barakah, until today. And every man of Judah and
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Jerusalem returned, which which Ahasa had at their head,
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returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to
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rejoice over their enemies. The story is so incredible to
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realize that that all they did was begin to sing to the Lord,
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and the enemies annihilated themselves.
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You just need to remember that next time you get in the fight,
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just start singing to the Lord, Give Him praise to His glorious
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name. They knew that God would be with
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them. They knew that God would fight
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for them. The prophet told him.
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So they waited, but they gave praise to God, because praise is
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that which enables us through divine power.
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When we begin to praise God, the power of God is unleashed in our
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lives. Instead of grumbling and
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complaining about what's happening in my life, I begin to
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praise God for what He's doing because He's going to do things
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beyond whatever I can ever imagine.
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Remember Paul and Silas when they were in prison Act 16?
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They had been beaten and they were in stocks and chains.
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What did they do? They began to sing, begin to
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pray and begin to sing. Did, did.
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Did Paul and Status know the chains were going to come off?
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Nope. Did they know the jail doors are
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going to be open? Nope.
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That's not why they were singing.
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They were singing because the people that I have formed for
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myself, they will declare my praise no matter what the
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circumstance. And so they did.
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And lo and behold, the chains fell off, the doors flew open.
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God was doing the work. Why?
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Because praise enables us through divine power.
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And so we're so busy worrying about things and complaining
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about things and griping about things that we forget that we
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are to praise Him in everything and for everything.
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And praise that which enables us to divine power #5 this is so
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good. Praise envelops us with divine
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peace. Praise envelops us with divine
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peace. You know this verse, Philippians
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4 verse #6 Be anxious for nothing, OK?
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Larry says stop worrying. But we worry, don't we?
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We get very anxious. We're, we're, we're very much
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anxiety driven. Our palms become sweaty, our
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brow becomes filled with beads of sweat, our pits become smelly
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because all we do is live anxious lives.
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And the Bible says be anxious for nothing.
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Matthew 6, Christ did the same thing.
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Don't worry about what you're going to wear tomorrow.
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Don't worry about about how long you're going to live.
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But what do we do? We worry about how long we're
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going to live. We worry that we're going to die
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tomorrow. We're worried about somebody
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going to get cancer in my family.
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Why? Why do you do that?
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All your days are numbered. You can't add to it or subtract
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from it. It's all numbered.
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But we'll be worried about how long we're going to live.
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We worry about what clothes we're going to wear.
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We worry about everything in life and and and Christ gives
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the command don't do this because to do it as a sin to do
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it as a sin. We don't see worry as a sin, but
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it is. We don't see anxiety as a sin,
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but it is be anxious for nothing.
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The Bible says why tells you, but in everything by prayer and
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suffocation with Thanksgiving. See, our problem is we spend
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more time in petition and not enough time and praise.
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Look at your prayer life. You're asking God for this.
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You're asking God for that because you want this and you
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want that. You keep asking and asking and
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asking and asking and asking, but not praising.
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Our prayers are filled with petition, but they should be
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filled with praise. So he says, be anxious for
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nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
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Thanksgiving. Every petition is coupled with
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Thanksgiving. Every supplication is surrounded
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with Thanksgiving. Every time you ask God for
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something, you praise God for something.
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Just keep praising them. When you do that, when you do
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that, it says, and the peace of God, which surpasses all
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comprehension, will guard your heart and mind.
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Guard it from what? Anxiety, worry, doubt.
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Why is that? Our lives are filled with worry
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and doubt? Because when we pray, we don't
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pray with Thanksgiving, we don't pray with praise, we don't pray
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thanking God for what he's going to do and how he's going to do
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it. We're just so worried that he's
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going to even hear my prayer and answer my prayer.
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We're we're even anxious about that.
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And most be anxious for nothing. But in everything, not some
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things, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
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Thanksgiving. That's the key.
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Let your requests be made known unto God.
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When that happens, the peace of God, which surpasses all human
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comprehension. In other words, you can't
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understand this on the human level.
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It's beyond a human intelligence.
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It's divine peace and God wants to surround you with his peace
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in your heart. It will guard your heart.
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It will protect your heart from from from all kinds of sweat
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just does from being anxious, being worried.
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Because praise is simply that which enables us to divine power
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and envelops us with divine peace.
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I wonder if you live a life of peace and tranquility and
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serenity? Or is your life filled with
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worry and anxiousness about all kinds of things that just really
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don't matter in the long run? And so many times we forget that
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our prayers need to be more about praising God than
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petitioning God. When they are, then the peace of
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God, which goes beyond all kinds of human comprehension, is going
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to guard you, protect you, watch over you, allow you to sleep at
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night, allow you to go through life without sweaty palms.
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A lot of you go through life relaxing in the sovereignty of
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the living God. And lastly, praise is that which
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enriches us in divine pleasure. Praise is that which enriches us
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in divine pleasure. Psalm 69, verse #30 I will
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praise the name of God with song and magnify him with
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Thanksgiving, and it will please the Lord.
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Praise that which enriches us with divine pleasure.
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Don't you? Don't you want to please the
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Lord? Praise does that, Thanksgiving
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does it. That's why it's a priority.
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That's why it's highest on our list.
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Why? Because dandy, we just want to
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please the Lord. That's all.
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We want to honor the Lord, magnify His name.
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And so when we praise Him and magnify Him and give Him the
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thanks to His name, the Lord is pleased.
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Lord is pleased with that more than any other sacrifice that we
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make, because it's truly the sacrifice of praise that brings
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glory in to His name and pleases Him.
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And so This is why praise is such a divine priority for us is
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because our whole life is, is wrapped up and pleasing God,
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honoring God, That's what you want to do.
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So praise then is the priority of the believer as we journey
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down the pathway of praise. It is a long, long pathway.
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And as you journey down that pathway of praise, there are
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many crevices, there are many obstacles, there are many
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hindrances that will try to knock you off that pathway.
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But as long as praise remains your priority, then no matter
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what the obstacle, no matter what the hardship or difficulty,
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no matter how deep the crevice, how big the cracks, makes no
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difference, you will continue to journey giving praise to your
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God. Let's pray together.
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Lord, we thank you for today. We thank you for your word.
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Forgive us Lord for for not praising you as we should.
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Praise seems to be the lost art of the Christian today.
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We know a lot about God, but we don't praise you enough for who
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you are. We'd like to pray to you and ask
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for things, but don't want to praise you for your will being
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done. We want to go through life
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anxiously waiting about what's going to happen this week or
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tomorrow, in school, at work, with this person, with that
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person. And yet we just need to rest in
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God, trust in the Lord, knowing that you have everything under
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control. The battle is not ours.
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The battle is the Lord's. You are our protector.
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You are our provider. You are our peace.
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You are everything. Forgive us, Lord, for not seeing
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you as such. Pray, Lord, that You would take
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us, make us, and mold us into the people You want us to be.