“He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honours and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.” Psa 50:23 (Amplified)
I excitedly informed my fiancée (now wife) that I had discovered God’s will for my life and that He had called me to a lifestyle of praise and worship. She and some friends I confided in didn’t seem too chuffed about my discovery because they really did not know much about the subject. Shortly after that my conviction was put to the test. I had applied for council housing on the accelerated scheme, which was supposed to take just three months. After that time had elapsed and in view of the fact that my wedding was drawing closer and I still hadn’t been allocated my flat, I took it to God in prayer and His response was “Just praise Me”. I understood enough of the subject then to know that God inhabits the praises of His people and that He would intervene on my behalf with respect to my application. So, what really happened?
As directed, I started praising God and thanking Him for my flat. I also would visit the housing office to closely monitor my application’s progress and might I say that it wasn’t too encouraging. The pressure for a quick result was ratcheted up as my house mate announced his wife’s imminent arrival. This meant that I had to find somewhere to stay. So, I too began piling pressure on the housing officer handling my case to expedite my application. The response I received wasn’t encouraging either, as I was told to wait my turn. It seemed as if there was little more that I could do but trust God and keep praising Him. A few months later, I received a letter from the council saying that there had been a re-jigging of the housing queue and consequently my position on the queue had moved back from just over number four hundred to seven hundred and thirty. Things had just taken a turn for the worse, but what was I supposed to do? Since God said praise me, it was the only thing I knew to do. So, I continued praising God, thanking Him for the provision of my flat. In the mean time, I had to move in with a friend because my time had finally run out and my friend’s spouse had arrived.
Just one week later, I received a letter from the council informing me that I have been provisionally allocated a flat and would I like to accept it? I quickly went and viewed it and a few weeks later became a proud occupant of a flat. That experience taught me a valuable lesson that I have been applying ever since, which is that “Praise works”. Praise, like prayer, represents a fun way to make deposits in the bank of heaven and thus build up treasures that are incorruptible and which will move God to act and touch our lives in a positive way. However, if still in doubt about the efficacy of praise, why not read the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-40? So, why not try laying up treasures in heaven the fun way? From my experience, I can guarantee that you will have a great adventure of faith and also see God move powerfully in your life.
Prayer:
Lord, I have learnt that you inhabit the praises of your people. I need you to move in my life, so accept the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart today and cause me to find favour with you. Help to order my way aright through praise so that I can indeed see your salvation. Amen.