Thank God for corporate praise when we gather together. It helps us to get among a body of believers as we celebrate and magnify the name of the Lord. There is also a personal private praise which lifestyle worshipers must not neglect. The reason for this is that until we come to the place where we can really enter into that private, personal praise, just between you and the Lord, there are always going to be some hindrances and some holding back when we enter into the corporate praise.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17) and God wants us to get so free that when His Spirit starts moving on us at home, in our kitchen, out in your work place, when commuting or driving down the road in your car, we can just let the spirit of praise flow like rivers of living waters in our surrounding.
The Bible says that God inhabits in our praise (Psalms 22:3). The question is, “If He inhabits in our praise, how far does He inhabits it?” The answer is as far as the sound of your voice goes … “Glory! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Blessed Be the name of Jesus!” As far as our voice sounds, God is living in those words. For example, when we are in our car praising and worshiping Him, our audible praise fills that car. When the devil gets any where near you; do you know what he gets? “Glory!” If he comes through the window of your car, “Hallelujah!” hits him. When he tries to enter by the door, “Jesus!” knocks him off.
PRAISE HAS TO BE VOCALIZED. The Bible says, “My lips shall praise Thee ” (Psalms 63:3). If you go around with your mouth shut and not praising God, then God is not in your praise and the devil beats on you. Our praise may be as weak as babes, but it is powerful enough to silence the enemy (Psalms 8:2). There is power in the name of Jesus, that means that that power is released when we speak or sing it. When we begin to speak forth or sing our praises in His name, the spirit inside us begins to rise up and the power of darkness outside of us begins to retreat. Let the Devil hit our praise ten or twenty feet out in front of us. Let them stick their fingers in their ears each time they are near us.
Psalms 34:1 says, ” … His praise shall CONTINUALLY BE IN MY MOUTH.” Most people have to stop what they are doing to try to get into praising God, but we need to have this reverse. We need to praise God so much that we have to stop praising in order to do something else.
Psalms 113:3 says, ” From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” King David was a man after God’s own heart. He praised God in the morning, he praised Him at noontime and he praised him in the night-time.
Psalms 119:164 David said, ” Seven times a day I praise Thee.” The number seven is perfect and complete. God is looking for worshipers who will choose to PRAISE HIM CONTINUALLY AND ALL DAY.
PRIVATE PRAISE is a powerful experience to live in. It is the key to a victorious and abundant life with Jesus. Let us the first fruits of our day to the Lord in private praise.
