THE IMPORTANCE AND POWER OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP BY ISRAEL KASHIM AUDU
Praise is characterized as the act of magnifying and honoring God for who He is and the act of exalting God's great name. It also includes thanking God for his many kindesses. Worship is characterized as a more intimate form of praise where believers seek to personlize their expression of God's worth to them and others. All Christians should make a practice of taking time to honor God for his goodness. David, known in the Bible as a man after God's own heart, incorporated this practice into His life. As believers seeking to please God, we should do the same.
Why is Praise and Worship Important?
Praise and worship is important primarily because the Bible commands it. In psalms for example, believers are repeatedly encouraged to praise and magnify the Lord. We even see in the book of Revelations where angels and other heavenly beings worship and honor God in heaven. While biblical commandment serves as our primary reason for the praise and worship of our heavenly Father, the following highlights several others:
God is deserving
There is no other being more deserving of praise. God is our creator, provider, sustainer, and savior. Without Him nothing or no one would exist. He is also the possessor of all wisdom and knowledge and the source of all that is good and perfect.
We should say thank you
Most people consider it polite to show appreciation to those who give them a gift, perform a kind gesture, or pay them a compliment. How much more shold we thank our heavenly Father who has given us life, breathe, the opportunity to spend eternity with Him, and many other kindnesses.
Praise invites God into our situation
The Bible tells us that God abides in the praises of His people. When we magnify God, we invite His presence into our lives.
Praise and worship honors God's presence
It honors God's greatness when we are able to magnify God and focus on his goodness in spite of our personal challenges. Through this practice, we testify that God is greater than all.
How We Should Praise and Worship
An organized form of praise and worship is important and should be cherished for what an awesome show of appreciation to the Father when believers collectively acknowledge Him for His goodness and give thanks, but our expression of praise and worship should not stop there.
Praise and worship should also be extended to private times between just you and God. Living a daily lifestyle in keeping with God's commandments is also a form of praise and worship.
Physical manifestations of praise might include singing, dancing, the raising of hands, bowing, the playing of instruments and other forms.
All forms of praise and worship are pleasing to God when done with the proper intent and attitude.
The Results of Praise and Worship
Although our primary purpose for praising and worshipping God should be because He is worthy, there are often kindnesses bestowed upon those who participate in this expression of love. Some of these include the following:
- More intimate connection with God
- Victory in battle as when the Israelites marched around the wall of Jericho. Praisers often preceded the army in Old Testament battles.
- Stress relief as we focus on the greatness of God versus personal challenges
- Believers experience the presence of God which may result in limitless favor (Encouragement, healing, deliverance, peace, joy, provision, etc.)
- Fulfillment of personal desires
Again, the most important reasons to praise God include the fact that He is worthy and that God takes pleasure in our praise.
What a priviledge to be able to share love with the greatest Being in all of existence who has showered so much love upon us.
Praise Elevates us into God’s Presence and Power
Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power. Through praise and worship their hearts were raised into the joyous presence and peace of God, and provided God a channel for his power to operate in their circumstances.
The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is more than a reaction of coming into His presence... praise to God is a vehicle of faith which takes us into His presence and power! Praise and worship is the “gate-pass” which allows us to enter the sacredness of His glory. The psalmist writes, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalms 100:4).
This corresponds with Jesus’ teaching, that His presence will inhabit the gathering of believers who congregate in His name: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). A “gathering in His name” means that Jesus must be the focus, the center of the assemblage. He must be the one preached about, sung about — the one praised and worshiped. “I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Hebrews 2:12). Consequently, Christ’s presence, along with His virtue and anointing, is manifested in this type of gathering.
Have you ever noticed when “gifts of the Spirit” operate in a church service? The power and anointing of the Holy Spirit usually becomes evident, subsequent to a time of worship and praise. Some think that worship is a response after the Holy Spirit moves upon them. However, it’s the other way around. God’s presence responds when we move upon Him with worship! Lifting up Jesus Christ through praise and worship invokes the Lord’s presence and power to flow in our midst.
What is Praise?
Praise means “to commend, to applaud or magnify.” For the Christian, praise to God is an expression of worship, lifting-up and glorifying the Lord. It is an expression of humbling ourselves and centering our attention upon the Lord with heart-felt expressions of love, adoration and thanksgiving. High praises bring our spirit into a pinnacle of fellowship and intimacy between ourselves and God — it magnifies our awareness of our spiritual union with the most high God. Praise transports us into the realm of the supernatural and into the power of God. “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance” (Psalms 89:15).
There are many actions involved with praise to God — verbal expressions of adoration and thanksgiving, singing, playing instruments, shouting, dancing, lifting or clapping our hands. But true praise is not “merely” going through these motions. Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the pharisees, whose worship was only an outward show and not from the heart. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Genuine praise to God is a matter of humility and sincere devotion to the Lord from within.
Unpretentious praise and worship pleases the Lord. He delights in the love and devotion of His children. According to the scriptures, the various expressions of praise bring blessing to the Lord. He eagerly awaits the fragrance of our affections, desiring to manifest His sweet presence and power in our midst. “...the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).
Praise to God is a Lifestyle
All too often, praise to God is something that many people leave at church, an event that happens only when they come together with other Christians. However, praise should be a part of a believers lifestyle, inter-mingled as a part of their daily prayer-life. At work, in the car, at home in bed, or anywhere; praise to the Lord brings the refreshing of the Lord’s presence, along with His power and anointing. “...I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1).
Praise is an expression of faith, and a declaration of victory! It declares that we believe God is with us and is in control of the outcome of all our circumstances (Romans 8:28). Praise is a “sacrifice,” something that we offer to God sacrificially, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him and wish to please Him. “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” (Hebrews 13:15).
Praise Sends the Enemy Running
Since praise manifests God’s presence, we also realize that praise repels the presence of the enemy, Satan. An atmosphere which is filled with sincere worship and praise to God by humble and contrite hearts is disgusting to the Devil. He fears the power in the name of Jesus, and flees from the Lord’s habitation in praise. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God” (Psalms 50:23).
When the children of Judah found themselves outnumbered by the hostile armies of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, King Jehoshophat and all the people sought the Lord for His help. The Lord assured the people that this would be His battle. He told them to go out against them, and He would do the fighting for them. So what did the children of Judah do? Being the people of “praise” (Judah actually means Praise), and knowing that God manifests His power through praise, they sent their army against their enemies, led by the praisers!
So on they went, ahead of the army declaring, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever!” And the scripture says, “...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” (2 Chronicles 20:22).
When God’s people begin to praise His name, it sends the enemy running! I challenge you to become a person of praise, and you will experience the release of the power of God!
Some Biblical Expressions of Praise
Declaring of thanks (Heb. 13:15)
Clapping hands and shouting (Psalms 47:1)
Musical instruments and dancing (Psm. 150:4)
Singing praise songs (Psalms 9:11)
Psalms, hymns, & spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19-20)
Making a joyful noise (Psalms 98:4)
By lifting our hands (Psalms 134:2)
By being still (Psalms 4:3-5, 46:10)
By being loud (Psalms 33:3, 95:1-6)
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