Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him As A Precious Treasure
Prayer is the intimate communication with God. One of the keys to having the closest possible fellowship and intimacy with God is good honest 2 way communication. You cannot have intimate, open, honest, transparent, 2-way communication with God until you are able to block out all distractions and be fully and totally focused on God.
Starting your prayer & fellowship time with Praise & Worship God helps you to better focus on Him. It also helps to prepare your heart to hear God’s voice. Praise & worship God at the beginning of your prayer time helps you to realize Who you are with, and it helps you to have a humble heart towards God.
Your heart needs to be ready and prepared to hear Him and then respond to whatever He tells you. You need to have a worshipful and soft and willing and humble and obedient heart. A heart that loves God fully. That is what a true worshipper of God is.
Praise God Means To Greatly Value Him
THE MEANING OF THE WORD PRAISE
The root of the words Praise & Worship God means to “place high value on something or someone (God)”. You are God’s First Love & Treasure & Passion, and now God wants to be your First Love & Treasure & Passion. Your Treasure means that God is more valuable, more important, and more precious than anything or anyone else.
Starting your prayer & fellowship time (and your whole day) with Praise & Worship God helps you to focus on God and get ready to hear His voice. Hearing God’s voice is the most important part of your prayer & fellowship time with God.
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
GOD INHABITS THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE; YOUR AWARENESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE AND YOUR FOCUS ON HIM IS MADE GREATER WHEN YOU PRAISE GOD & WORSHIP HIM
“… O Thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.” – Psalm 22:3
” Surely I am with you always.” – Matthew 28:20
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
“The Lord is near.” – Philippians 4:5
Even though God is always near and always with us, we are not always with Him. Or at least we are not always focused on God and His presence. It will be difficult to hear God’s voice if we are distracted and not focused on Him. Praise & worship God sensitizes us to God’s presence.
YOUR PRAYER TIME & EVERY DAY SHOULD BEGIN WITH PRAISE & WORSHIP GOD SO YOU CAN GET MORE FOCUSED ON GOD’S PRESENCE
Why do you think church services start with praise & worship ? First to express your love and adoration for God, to glorify and please Him, and also so you can get your focus on Him so you can reverently listen to Him speaking to you and then respond to Him.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.”
- “Being self centered blinds us to God and his love, and hinders the love relationship. We’ll have a hard time trusting God, hearing God, obeying God, experiencing God, and knowing God.” – Experiencing God
It is natural for humans to be focused on self, or to be self-centered. We all need God to touch and change and cleanse our hearts so that we can stop being self-centered and become God-centered and Kingdom-centered people. Then we will be better focused on God and the things that are important to God.
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
YOU CANNOT INTIMATELY COMMUNICATE WITH GOD UNTIL YOU’VE MADE A CONNECTION & YOU’RE FOCUSED ON HIS PRESENCE
It is not possible have good intimate communication until you first are ready and willing to hear what God has to say. You need to take your focus off of everything around you and fully focus on God.
In order to hear God speak to you, you need to be ready and willing to hear Him and then follow and obey whatever He tells you or however He leads you. Listening is not merely hearing God speak, but acting upon it.
Review True Worship of God … notice that as you go down the list of what true worship of God is, it involves reverently listening to Him, and obeying Him, and ultimately surrendering and giving all of yourself to Him.
PRAISE GIVES THE GLORY TO GOD. IT LIFTS OUR SPIRITS AND IT SETS THE TONE FOR YOUR TIME WITH GOD AND YOUR WHOLE DAY. ONCE YOU REALIZE WHO YOU ARE WITH, YOU ARE HUMBLED, YOUR HEART IS SOFTENED, AND YOU ARE READY TO LISTEN
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven. THEN I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” – Isaiah 6:1-8
“Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight… Show me your glory.” – Exodus 33:13,18
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
ONCE YOU FOCUS ON GOD THEN YOU CAN ENJOY HIS PRESENCE
“I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” – Psalm 16:8-11
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” – Isaiah 26:3
“My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” – Psalm 25:15
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
PRAISE IS A “GARMENT” THAT COVERS & PROTECTS YOU FROM BITTERNESS, AND FROM COMPLAINING, AND FROM UNGRATEFULNESS, AND FROM A SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS
“… A garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” – Isaiah 61:3
A garment is used to cover and protect from the elements. Praise & worship God is meant to be a covering of protection for us from the spiritual forces of evil and our enemy. Praise & worship God helps to protect us from despair, discouragement, heaviness, oppression, bitterness, complaining, and ungratefulness.
PRAISING WILL CONFUSE THE ENEMY AND PRAISE BREAKS THE ENEMY’S OPPRESSION. PRAISE IS A SPIRITUAL WEAPON
See Praise Is A Spiritual Weapon
“And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” – Psalm 27:6
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
GOD WANTS YOU TO DEVELOP A LIFESTYLE OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD, AND PRAYER, AND BEING THANKFUL
- “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – I Thessalonians 5:16-18
You need develop a lifestyle of praise and worship God, prayer, and being thankful. The more you know God, the more you will praise and worship God. You will trust Him more and want to talk to Him about everything in your life. You will better trust and follow Him. And you will be more thankful to God in your life.
“Rejoice in the Lord always (praise and worship God always); again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is [a]near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all [b]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:4-7
“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” – Hebrews 13:15-16
GOD WANTS YOUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP OF HIM TO BE GENUINE AND FROM A HEART OF TRUE LOVE & ADORATION FOR GOD
- “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD IN THE BAD & DIFFICULT TIMES THAT HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE. YOU MAY NOT FEEL LIKE PRAISING AND WORSHIPPING GOD, BUT THIS REALLY WILL LIFT YOUR SPIRITS
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” – Romans 8:28-29
When you read the entire chapter 8 of Romans, you will see from the context of these verses that Paul is talking about difficult times. When Paul says “all things”, he is talking about suffering and difficult times in your life.
The ultimate and higher good that God wants to bring about is to transform you to be more and more like Jesus. A person of high quality character and honor. A person of glory, like Jesus.
PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Praise God Means to Greatly Value Him
EXAMPLES OF PRAISING AND WORSHIPPING GOD
See “TRUE WORSHIP OF GOD“
PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD FOR WHO HE IS (He is loving, merciful, gracious, perfectly faithful…)
READ A PSALM OF PRAISE TO GOD:
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- See Psalm 8,19,23,46,95,100,103,148,149,150
READ A BIBLE PASSAGE OF PRAISE TO GOD:
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- Luke 1:46-55 or 1 Samuel 2:1-9 are examples
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:11-13
Starting your prayer & fellowship time and Praise God first, before you begin to ask Him for things. This helps you to better focus on Him. It also helps to prepare your heart to hear God’s voice. Praise God & worship God at the beginning of your prayer time helps you to realize Who you are with, and it helps you to have a humble heart towards God.
Pursuing Intimacy With God
Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.
There are hundreds of Bible verses and great truths & promises in the Pursuing Intimacy With God studies.
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Salvation: The Requirements for True Salvation
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The Kind of Christian & Church God Wants
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