15 September 2008
PRAYER - PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
1 John 5:14
"And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
Effective prayer begins with:
1) Recognizing that you are entering into the very presence of God for the purpose of building relationship with Him.
2) And relationships that work are built with praise, gratitude, honesty, trust, forgiveness and intimacy.
In other words, they are motivated by love.
Therefore, the way that you pray should reflect these same relational elements.
YOUR TIME WITH GOD AND PRAYER - IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIP!
Resist the temptation to become ritualistic and focus instead on your love for Him.
Praise and thanksgiving open our hearts and cause joy to well up in our spirits.
The Word tells us that praise and thanksgiving are Kingdom keys that open the doors to His courts, allowing us to enter into His presence:
Psalm 100:4
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name."
As you enter into praise, meditate on the provision the Lord has made for you through the blood of Jesus.
His blood allows you to walk today in the new covenant.
Hebrews 10:19
"Therefore, brothers, having boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus."
Hebrews 12:24
"And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
Praise God for Who He Is!
The source of praise is the Holy Spirit activating your spirit to express approval and adoration for God's greatness.
As you read through the Scriptures, keep a list of the qualities that you discover about Him:
His mercy,
His faithfulness,
His patience,
His everlasting love.
Praise Him for His character.
Develop the habit of praise during your prayer time.
Psalm 51:15
"O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise."
Psalm 119:164
"Seven times a day I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous ordinances."
As you begin to praise and extol the Lord, your spirit rises up within you to increase your understanding of who He is.
Your soul is also strengthened in the process of praise because praise causes faith to grow, and as it grows, you suddenly realize that nothing is too difficult for Him.
Jeremiah 32:17
"Ah, Lord Jehovah! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm.
Nothing is too great for You."
Thank Him for What He Has Done and Will Continue to Do.
Thanksgiving awakens your love toward God as you acknowledge that you are His child.
Thank Him that He gives you every good and perfect gift.
James 1:17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning."
Respond with joy to His benefits showered on you as His heir.
Proverbs 3:6
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Psalm 116:12, 17
"What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord."
An attitude of gratitude washes away negativity and purifies your soul.
Praise Application:
1) With these thoughts, begin to praise and thank Him.
2) Express your love and adoration for Him.
3) Acknowledge His attributes through His different names.
The following are seven Hebrew expressions of praise from the Old Testament:
Towdah: Sacrifice of thanksgiving or praise; to render thanksgiving or praise.
Psalm 42:4
"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul on me; for I had gone with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping the feast."
Yadah: To throw, thrust or cast away from, hands outward, to throw hands into the air.
Psalm 67:3
"Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples thank You."
Barak: To bless, to give thanks and praise to God because He has given out of His abundance; bless as an act of adoration, to kneel.
Psalm 31:21
"Blessed is Jehovah; for He has worked His mercy wondrously in a besieged city."
Halal: To make a show or boast, to be clamorously foolish, to go about in a raging or raving way, to dance, to celebrate.
Psalm 56:4
"In God I will praise His Word; in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me."
Zamar: To celebrate with instruments, to praise the Lord skillfully on an instrument, to touch strings with the fingers.
Psalm 21:13
"Be exalted, O Jehovah, in Your strength; we will sing, and praise Your power."
Tehillah: An imperative summons to praise Jehovah. A psalm or a hymn, by choirs, with dancing and expressive speaking; festal jubilation.
Psalm 22:3
"But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."
Shabach: Praise, comment; adoration toward the power, glory and sanctity of the Lord.
Praise God for His mighty acts and deeds. To triumph in a loud voice.
Psalm 63:3-4
"Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
So I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name."
A joyful way to start a prayer time is to choose a psalm or several verses from the Bible and read each expression of praise out loud.
This will energize your spirit.
Psalm 145-150 are especially good because they exalt God for His goodness, love, power, holiness, wisdom, greatness, glory and majesty.
Psalm 145:1-7
"I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate.
And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness...and shall shout joyfully of Thy righteousness."
Dale Boehs
09.15.2008
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