Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST
We all have a choice—either we put God first or we put ourselves first. If we choose the latter, then we will not have successful prayer lives. To live successful Christian lives, we need to learn to praise God no matter how we feel. It is a life filled with praise that establishes the foundation of prayer. The key to hallowing the name of God is praise.
The apostle Paul knew the value of praise. In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas were arrested in Philippi for preaching the Gospel. Beaten and bleeding, they were still singing praises to the Lord. The result of their praise was an earthquake that shook the city and opened the prison gate. Even the prison warden wanted to know Christ.
Do you feel that God is not responding to you? Try praising Him. Praise is powerful and can change your outlook. Ask yourself if you are a person of praise or whether you have yielded to thoughts of doubt and negative thinking. You certainly can learn to praise God! How you act and talk is a reflection of the character of Christ within you. Regardless of your situation, praise comes as an overflow of His joy.
Practice praising the Lord by telling Him that you surrender to His power and authority, that you desire to place Him first in your life, and that you want to obey His Word. To honor and to uplift the name of the Lord brings delight to our heavenly Father.
Do you feel as if you are in a spiritual desert? Develop a life of praise by praising the Lord each day, regardless of how you feel or what you are experiencing. Can you praise God in the midst of pain and despair like Paul and Silas did? When you praise the name of God, you will feel the joy of the Lord!
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (Psalm 66:20).Posted via email from ..................The Last Call Digest
