Power of Praise

I am often tired. I have troubles come at me each day. Jesus tells us "Every day has its own troubles..."

I don`t do it enough. In fact, I often neglect it. It is sad to say cause a "long time Christian" should know better; I usually don`t wake up and start my day with praise. But if I honestly think about it, the most joyful seasons of my life, the times where I have experienced the most growth have come when I am in regular habit of starting my day with praise. It`s not magic and it doesn`t solve all my problems or relieve my troubles.

But what it does do is give me power to breakthrough, strength to endure, and perspective. If I can arise and say, "Thank you God, I praise you for this opportunity today! I praise you for a hot shower, for the roof over my head, for the blankets that kept me warm through the night, the clothes on my back, and so on ...then it`s like a spiritual reaction takes place in my heart. And if you know anything about chemistry...what happens when there is a chemical reaction?...energy is released!

So when this spiritual reaction is taking place in your heart you will no doubt feel a strength, an energy, a joy taking hold of you. The book of Nehemiah puts it this way, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

If we wake up grieving over our situation, we so easily get caught in a trap. We trade our potential joy for sorrow. We delay the joy we could be experiencing now until the resolution of our situation. Our hearts become weak and we lose hope. I know cause I have been there and I am still there.

We can all relate to the words, "How long O LORD?!" but God gives us a way to maintain through our most difficult times. The power of praising Him, of saying "Hallowed be Thy name", the act of telling God, reminds us who He is!

Let`s not miss out on the this joy that is an underground river of life giving water. Let`s dig a well and tap into it and experience the fullness of life that Jesus promises us. I don`t know about you, but I sure could use some of that joy in my life! Plus joy can be contagious, it can motivate us to do the good things we know we should be doing and overflow into the lives of those God has put around us.

It is exciting to think about! So can you feel it? or a better question, Are you experiencing it? if not just give it a try...and start praising God and see what happens.