PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• There’s a book I read each morning called “The Power of Praying Through the Bible,” by Stormie Omartian.
Some of you are probably familiar it but if you’re not—the author starts in Genesis and every day, there’s a small snippet of scripture with a devotion and prayer.
This morning was based on a passage from Judges and touched on our need for a Deliverer.
You know how sometimes you read something you already know but it speaks to you in a new way?
Yeah, that was me this morning.
She wrote, “The most effective and powerful way to spend time in the Lord’s presence is in praise and worship. Every time you worship God, something happens to break the power of evil. That’s because God inhabits your praises, and this means you are in His presence.”
I love that.
We all have situations from which we need deliverance.
Whether it’s relationship trouble, financial burdens, addiction, certain sins that plague us—we all need to be rescued and delivered.
And what she’s saying is that in the middle of those hardships is when we need to turn to praise and worship.
It feels unnatural.
When my son was in the hospital a little over a month ago, prayers were being lifted up like crazy, but my first inclination wasn’t to start praising and worshiping.
The truth is—I was so scared that my prayers were more like begging.
Not all our trials are that dramatic.
It’s for that reason though that we should get in the habit of praise through the small stuff so when the big issues come to our door, we will remember to praise before we panic.
Since I’m borrowing from others today, let me share something else too.
I love Ryan Stevenson’s song “In the Eye of the Storm.”
The lyrics say, “In the eye of the storm / You remain in control / And in the middle of the war / You guard my soul / You alone are the anchor / When my sails are torn / Your love surrounds me / In the eye of the storm.”
This is how we praise and worship in all circumstances.
We recognize God’s great goodness, His majesty, love, and sovereignty through it all.
Philippians 4:6 is typically the go-to verse for this truth, but today, for our signature verse, I’ve chosen Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah!”
I chose it because I love the simple direction of it…
If you are breathing, praise God.
Today, as you pray, thank God that the power of worshipping you can break us free from so many trials.
While it may not make them go away, ask the Holy Spirit to help you acknowledge that worship and praise of God put our issues and challenges in perspective.
Thank God for being with us through all our struggles.
