Praise, The Password of the Believer (4)
BIBLE STUDY: PSALMS 100
‘Lord, I have chosen You alone as my Inheritance. You are my Prize, my Pleasure and my Portion. I leave my destiny (and the destiny of all my loved ones) and its timing in Your hands. Your pleasant path leads (us) to pleasant places. I’m overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following You, for You have given me (and all my loved ones) the best! The way You counsel and correct makes me praise You more, for Your whispers in the night give me wisdom, showing me what to do next. Because You are close to me and always available, my confidence will never be shaken, for I experience Your wrap-around presence every moment.” Psalms 16:5-8 (TPT)
I just cannot stop praising God, it brings so much peace to my soul. God inhabits the praises of His people so as I praise Him, He is right where I am. I have found, when I am focused on Him (studying my Bible, meditating on His Word, listening to messages, writing messages) , I do not remember any issues I have (unpaid bills, a loved one’s health issues, setbacks etc) there is no way for worry or fear to come in. It is when I take my mind off Him that I begin to remember things I have no control over and begin to worry about them. But guess what, I have learnt to shift my focus back to God so the worry cannot find a home in my mind by taking the “issue” to God in prayer immediately. In a way, I have found a way to turning into good what the enemy intended for evil. The enemy wanted to rob me of my peace by bringing these issues to my mind but instead, I am just reminded to take these same issues to God to receive peace from Him. I receive peace because I know He always answers all my prayers and the answer He gives is for my good, not for evil to give me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). So the enemy just ends up taking my mind back to God every time he tries to distract me from God. My deepest desire is to please God and to do His will. I have made up my mind, wherever God leads me I will go and whatever He wants I will do.
As I listen to praise, my mind is opened to receive from Him. I hear the Holy Spirit more clearly as He shares secrets with me, He tells me what to pray about, gives me answers to questions on my mind and new ideas pop into my mind. Keeping my mind constantly on God has become a bit easier and I am learning with the help of the Holy Spirit to keep my mind constantly stayed of God. With praise and worship or a message on my podcast constantly in the background as I go about my day, I have found that I am more patient and at peace during the day. This has really helped my growth and I suggest you do the same. Invest in a very good IPod or something similar for all your messages and music and subscribe to podcasts from Bible believing Pastors and carry this with you everywhere you go. I am constantly being fed Scriptures through the music and messages and sometimes, it is a worship song that will just stay in my spirit all day. Today for example, the song I have been listening to over and over is “More Than Enough” by The Brooklyn Tabernacle, my spirit keeps wanting to listen to it and all the song is saying is reminding me, God is more than enough to meet all my needs (spiritually and physically). I have been singing along to it all day today and honestly my joy is overflowing and I have so much peace around me. I am not saying this is the only way, I can only recommend what has helped me.
Let us bless the Lord at all times and let His praise continually be in our mouths. We as believers go through so many things, but through it all we must use the password of praise to breakthrough the darkness and hardship to freedom of peace and joy. Continue to fill your Praise Journal, it has brought tremendous blessing to my life and a greater intimacy with God. If you still have not started, start today!!!!
UNDER GRACE UNDER MERCY