Dear church,

 

God has been teaching me so much about praise and thanksgiving lately, and how powerful it really is. Lord willing, over time we will begin to incorporate the power of praise in our prayer times together, both on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Considering that God dwells in the praises of His people we may want to dedicate an entire Wednesday prayer time to praising and thanking our God. Notice this passage:

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. John 11:41

This is an unusual order, isn’t it? Lazarus is still in the grave, and Jesus’ thanksgiving precedes the miracle of resurrection. It seems that His thanksgiving and praise would have come after the resurrection, when Lazarus was brought to life again. But instead Jesus gives thanks for what He is about to receive. His thanksgiving and praise comes before the miracle happens, and Jesus expresses the assurance that it is certainly on the way. This is the song of victory being sung before the battle has been fought. It is thanksgiving before the miracle!

Also, there is a parallel passage in the Old Testament. In 2 Chronicles 20 Jehoshaphat faced a mighty army and did not know what to do to win the battle. But he consulted with the Lord and the people, and then he

²¹ …appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” ²² As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” 2 Chronicles 20:21-22

The praise team went ahead of the soldiers and it was “as they began to sing and praise” that the Lord won the victory for them. Oh what a lesson this is for us. Do you have battles in this life? Give yourself over to praising the Lord and He will fight for you and ensure your victory. After all, He won the main battle for us on the cross when He “disarmed the powers and authorities, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). So praise Him now and watch the victory come in time. Thank Him now, being assured of what He will do.

Because of the victory Jesus won, we are assured of victory ourselves even before we engage in battle. Therefore we can praise and thank Him, even before we see the battle won.

“Who thinks of announcing a victory-psalm when the crusaders are just starting out for the field? Where can we hear the grateful song for the answer which has not yet been received? And after all, there is nothing strange or forced, or unreasonable in the Master’s order. Praise is really the most vital preparatory ministry to the working of the miracles. Miracles are wrought by spiritual power. Spiritual power is always proportioned to our faith”.—Dr. Jowett.

PRAISE CHANGES THINGS

Nothing so pleases God in connection with our prayer as our praise, and nothing so blesses the man who prays as the praise which he offers. I got a great blessing once in China in this connection. I had received bad and sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: “Try Thanksgiving.” I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was right, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”—Rev. Henry W. Frost.