Wonder

Do you ever wonder what praise does for you and for the Lord and those who hear you praising the Lord?  Think about this, praise is something God desires from His people, He loves it when believers thank and praise Him.  

For a long time I have been praising and thanking the Lord almost daily, even when I don’t feel like it because I believe praise is such an important part of a believer’s life.  This is the way I feel about it, regardless of how I feel the Lord is worthy to be praised.  No matter what you, or I, are going through, no matter the circumstances or situation, the Lord is worthy of our thanks and praise.  Why?  Because our circumstances and situations or anything else can’t change the fact that the Lord is the creator of the world we live in and everything in it.  He has control of all things; everything that walks, flies, crawls or swims belongs to Him because He created all things.

I feel that I have more to thank and praise the Lord for because of what he has delivered me from and what He has done for me and through me for many years.  I like praising and thanking the Lord because it not only gets my mind and eyes off of me and my problems and onto Him, but I also think it pleases Him.  I believe every believer should practice this concept because the Lord is worthy.  I know there are times in every believer’s life when it seems very hard to thank and praise the Lord, but in those times especially it is very important to praise and thank the Lord.  

Many people in the Word of God knew how important it was to thank and praise the Lord and they did it in the most unlikely places.  David, and others, thanked and praised the Lord many times in the Psalms.  Let’s read about one of these times in Acts 16:11-25, “Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days.

But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

If you can, try to put yourself in Paul and Silas’ shoes.  They, as far as they knew, were doing what the Lord had wanted them to do.  They were there to minister and God used them to set a lady free of her bondage from those who were using her for fortunetelling as a means for them to make a great deal of money.  For this kind deed they were beaten and thrown into a cold, damp cell in the inner prison and chained like criminals.  Not a pretty picture and a very bad situation to be in.  Paul and Silas could have been feeling sorry for themselves, complaining and having a pity party.  That is what many believers may have done in this situation, but not Paul and Silas, they did what they thought was the best thing they could do in the situation they were in.  They started praying and praising the Lord even before the answer came, imagine that.  They got their eyes and mind on the Lord and off their circumstance and look what happened, their deliverance came and also miraculous signs and wonders took place, praise the Lord!!  Think about what it did for the other prisoners who were listening, they may have been so shocked that they wanted to hear more because they had a chance to escape but they didn’t.  If they did it would have cost the jailer his life, but instead of losing his life he found eternal life and so did his household, thanks to Paul and Silas being faithful.  

Praising and thanking the Lord helps us and pleases the Lord and also ministers to those that are listening.  I also think thanking and praising the Lord is a good witnessing tool you can use to let others know how much you appreciate the Lord and that you are serious about your faith and walk with the Lord.  And let me throw this in, praising the Lord isn’t just music and singing but it is also the way you live a godly life before others and the Lord.  Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!