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Sunday 28 August 2016

God’s Prayer Pattern - Lesson 6 (Praise and Worship)


Lesson 6 (Praise and Worship)

The greatest teacher ever to walk on this earth teaches us to pray after this manner, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” These words apart from telling us about God’s greatness, they all so tell us about how to start or enter in to prayer. The psalmist once said, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” Psalm 100:4. The greatest lesson we get here is that we must always enter in to God’s presence with praise and worship.

Praising and worshiping God is an expression of our love and admiration of him for who he is and what he has done or is capable of doing.  In Isaiah 66:1 God says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”  He is the Creator of the universe and everything in it, which includes you and me.  In Psalms 100 the worshipper says, “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” How wonderful and amazing is that!

Praising and worshiping God is not a ritual, or recital of an ancient prayer.  True worship calls for total commitment of our body, mind and spirit.  It has nothing to do with religion, but has all to do with having a profound and intimate relationship with God. It’s about exalting, adoring and acknowledging the God of the Bible. 

Gotquestions.org has the following to say about praise and worship.

“Understanding the difference between praise and worship can bring a new depth to the way we honour the Lord. Throughout the Bible, the commands to "praise the Lord" are too numerous to mention. Angels and the heavenly hosts are commanded to praise the Lord (Psalm 89:5; 103:20; 148:2). All inhabitants of the earth are instructed to praise the Lord (Psalm 138:4; Romans 15:11). We can praise Him with singing (Isaiah 12:5; Psalm 9:11), with shouting (Psalm 33:1; 98:4), with the dance (Psalm 150:4), and with musical instruments (1 Chronicles 13:8; Psalm 108:2; 150:3-5).

 Praise is the joyful recounting of all God has done for us. It is closely intertwined with thanksgiving as we offer back to God appreciation for His mighty works on our behalf. Praise is universal and can be applied to other relationships as well. We can praise our family, friends, boss, or paperboy. Praise does not require anything of us. It is merely the truthful acknowledgment of the righteous acts of another. Since God has done many wonderful deeds, He is worthy of praise (Psalm 18:3).

 Worship, however, comes from a different place within our spirits. Worship should be reserved for God alone (Luke 4:8). Worship is the art of losing self in the adoration of another. Praise can be a part of worship, but worship goes beyond praise. Praise is easy; worship is not. Worship gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our self-worship. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done. Worship is a lifestyle, not just an occasional activity. Jesus said the Father is seeking those who will worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).

In Scripture, praise is usually presented as boisterous, joyful, and uninhibited. God invites praise of all kinds from His creation. Jesus said that if people don't praise God, even the "stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40). When the Bible mentions worship, however, the tone changes. We read verses like, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:9). And, "Come let us worship and bow down" (Psalm 95:6). Often, worship is coupled with the act of bowing or kneeling, which shows humility and contrition (2 Chronicles 29:28; Hebrews 11:21; Revelation 19:10). It is through true worship that we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us, convict us, and comfort us. Through worship, we realign our priorities with God's and acknowledge Him once more as the rightful Lord of our lives.

 Just as praise is intertwined with thanksgiving, worship is intertwined with surrender. It is impossible to worship God and anything else at the same time (Luke 4:8). The physical acts often associated with worship—bowing, kneeling, lifting hands—help to create the necessary attitude of humility required for real worship. Wise worship leaders know how to structure a worship service to allow participants to both praise and worship the Lord. Often, services begin with joyous praise songs and transition to a quieter, more introspective opportunity for worship.

Worship is an attitude of the heart. A person can go through the outward motions and not be worshiping (Psalm 51:16-17; Matthew 6:5-6). God sees the heart, and He desires and deserves sincere, heartfelt praise and worship.” 

When we praise and worship the Lord a very profound thing occurs. Psalms 22:3 says that that God inhabits the praises of his people. In 2 Chronicles 6 we see Solomon at the dedication of the temple giving an elaborate praise and worship to God. He praised God for all the good God had done for Israel from the day he delivered Israel from the days of the captivity in Egypt up to the date of the temple dedication. The acclaim was so ornate such that in the next chapter, 2 Chronicles 7, we are told that, “As soon as Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and burned up the offerings. The Lord’s dazzling glory then filled the temple, and the priests could not go in. When the crowd of people saw the fire and the Lord’s glory, they knelt down and worshiped the Lord. They prayed: “The Lord is good, and his love never ends.”

That is what praise and worship does. It invites the presence of God in to the midst of his people. When we praise God his presence will come down and when his presence is in our midst our trouble will flee away. This explains why the sick get healed even before they have been prayed for.

Here Jesus is teaching us to do one of the things that bring about electiveness in to our prayer life. When God is in our presence no demon can dare stand such an atmosphere charged with the presence of God. Through praise and worship we break al chains and fetters of the evil one. Through praise we open flood gates for answers to prayer. Did you know that God know our needs even before we mention them? Many a time most of the needs are met without praying about them. When we praise the Lord everything falls in to shape.

The lesson we therefore get is that before we make our petition known, we must first acknowledge the greatness of God and then genuinely and from the depth of our hearts adore God and give him all the praises that belong to him. Are you aware that Jesus once said that when people do not worship God, rocks and boulders will praise him




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