Read the songs of praise today, not once, but twice.
Click the reference to read online or open up your Bible. You just might want to highlight something today.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Psalm 95:1-2
Praise. What a wonderful way to pray.
These psalms today remind me of when I learned to pray praise. Asking, giving thanks, confessing my sin, these were the only ways I thought to come to Him in prayer. Until I learned the incredible gift of praying praise to Him.
The ministry of Moms In Prayer International taught me the art of praise. The joy and strength found in praising His name through His Word. Moms In Prayer is a ministry encouraging moms (grandmoms, aunts, any close female relation) to pray for children and their schools. They teach a four-step Scripture-based prayer.
Praise
Confession
Thanksgiving
Intercession
But praise was new to me and it absolutely refreshed my spiritual life.
Praise is simply telling God how great He is. Telling Him He's good, almighty, life, love, patient, kind, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, etc., etc. It may seem counterintuitive. He knows all these things about Himself. Do we really need to tell Him we know?
The answer is a resounding Yes!
Praising God in prayer was awkward at first. I would choose an attribute from Scripture and look it up in a dictionary to find out more about what the word meant. My prayer began: God, I praise You as ____________. Then I would use what I learned in the dictionary to expand on what that meant.
What happened surprised me. Each time I praised His name, it was as if He spoke directly back to my spirit telling me: Yes. That's exactly who I am. The more I praised Him the more my faith increased in who He said He was. The more my faith increased the more my anxieties, worries, and fears subsided. The more confidence I had in His promises.
Are you finding yourself short of confidence in our God these days? I challenge you to write your own prayer of praise and speak it to Him today. The psalms we read today are full of great starting points. Find the aspect of His character you most need to face today. Let Him respond by building your faith in who He is.
Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Psalm 96:1-2
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