PRAISE AND GOD’S PRESENCE

“But You are holy, Who inhabits in the praises of Israel” – Psalm 22:3

There is a rewarding connection between PRAISE and GOD’S PRESENCE: “But You are holy, Who inhabits in the praises of Israel” (Psa.22:3). God inhabits and resides in the praises of His people! Jesus assured that His Presence will inhabit the gathering of believers who congregate in His name: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Mt.18:20). A “gathering in His name” means that Jesus is the Focus and Centre of the assembling. He is the One preached about, sung about – the One praised and worshiped: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You” (Heb. 2:12). Consequently, Christ’s Presence, virtue and anointing, are manifested in the atmosphere of praise.

The power, anointing and gifts of the Holy Spirit usually become evident, subsequent to our sacrifice of praise. Some think that worship is a response after the Holy Spirit moves upon them. This is true only to some extent. It’s more the other way around. God’s Presence responds when we come to Him in praise and worship! Lifting up Jesus Christ through praise and worship invokes His Presence and Power to flow in our midst. Sometimes we leave church saying, “That was a dry service.” The problem isn't dry services; it's dry servants! In praise, you are the initiator and God is the Responder.

Job 36:27-29 speaks about the rain cycle: "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy?” There's a spiritual parallel to this cycle as follows: as our vapours of praise go up to God, the clouds of His Presence form and the rains of His blessing begin to fall on us. When praises go up, blessings come down! This is the hidden power in praising God. Whenever we express our love for God through Praise, we open up the channel through which His love flows into our hearts and lives.

Worship and Praise constitute the purest form of divine communication because they focus our minds and souls entirely away from ourselves and on to God. They communicate pure love, devotion, reverence, appreciation, and thankfulness to God. In the atmosphere of holy Praise, we exalt God for who He is, and communicate our longing for Him. We draw close to Him for the sake of being close. When we worship God, we are the closest to Him we will ever be. That’s because Praise and Worship welcome His Presence in our midst.

We must never take God’s Presence for granted. We can never be too busy to praise Him. One of the dangers in working for God is that we can fail to spend time praising and worshipping Him, giving the excuse of serving Him. The Psalmist said, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psa.29:2). The word ‘due’ means “deserving of” – meaning that God is deserving or worthy of our praises. When John saw the multitudes in heaven praising God, they were singing, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power…” (Rev.4:11). It is therefore wise that we always start our day in praise saying, “Lord, I’m here because You deserve to be worshipped and adored”! 

Praise is all about God! Each time you stand in His house singing His praise, pause and be reminded: it's all about Him, not me! One day the telephone rang in the pastor’s office at the Washington Church President Franklin Roosevelt attended. A voice inquired, “Do you expect the President to be in church on Sunday?" The pastor answered, "That, I cannot promise. But we expect the Lord to be there, and that should be incentive enough for a reasonably large attendance." As you show up in Church today, don’t just go to get something, but to give praise and worship; don't just fill the pew, fill God's house with your heartfelt praise.