It is hard to praise without a smile on your face. Praise is positive affirmation. It is looking UP and seeing He who is on the throne. The Psalmist writes: “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King over all the earth; sing praises with a pslam!” (Psalms 47:6-7) Praise is declaratory and actually constructs a throne upon which the Lord sits. King David tells us that the Lord is enthroned upon the praises of His people. (Pslam 22:3) Can you imagine this picture; the Lord of lords sitting on your praises? Some translations use the word inhabit, instead of enthroned. The meaning is just about the same. God is present when we praise Him.
Praise involves God in whatever you are going through. Praise is your faith at work. It is seeing the breakthrough before it actually happens and declaring it into existence. When King Jehoshaphat was threatened by a coalition of Moabite, Amorite, and Ammonite armies, he assembled all of Judah in Jerusalem for a prayer meeting. The king was afraid because the host of the enemy was far greater than their army. In prayer, he declared: “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so none is able to withstand you…” (2 Chronicles 20:5-12) This declaratory prayer pierced through the darkness of fear and unbelief. The answer came through the prophet Jeruel: “Do not be afraid. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” The Levites and all of Israel stood to their feet and praised the Lord with a very loud voice. (vs. 17-19)
Hearing the Word of the Lord was enough. Faith had been born in their hearts and early the next morning, King Jehoshaphat led his army out into the wilderness of Tekoa. The God of Israel as about to judge the enemies of Israel from His heavenly throne. King Jehoshaphat appointed the worshippers to go before the army. As they began to sing and praise, the throne of God was revealed, as the Lord’s presence went before Israel into battle. The Lord set an ambush against the enemy. The armies of the three different kingdoms began to fight against each other until all were destroyed. When the army of Judah reached the battlefield, all they found were dead bodies strewn on the ground. God had fought on their behalf. The quantity of goods left by the enemy was so great that it took the army of Judah three days to carry off all the spoil. (2 Chronicles 20:24-25)
When the King of kings is seated on His throne, everything changes. The rule and reign of His love is manifest, darkness flees, hard hearts are opened, and the Word becomes a powerful two-edged sword. Many times, I have seen people delivered from demons, the sick healed, and repentance granted, during times of worship. In Pslams 149 we see this picture of praise as that sword in our mouth. So, don’t just praise God when you have the breakthrough; praise Him before the breakthrough. Bring God into your battle, (to fight for you), with your praise. I must clarify that praise is to God. It is to raise up His throne and bring to earth His presence. It is not a happy-clappy type of singing and shouting against the enemy. It is worship. The Kingdom of God has come. God’s throne is established on earth and the enemy is under our feet. That is Good News. It is something to smile about. So, praise the Lord with all that is in you.
Scriptures to meditate on:
2 Chronicles 20:5-25; Psalms 22:3; 47:1, 6-9; 149; Hebrews 13:15