Praise and worship has often been misunderstood as the musical prelude to the sermon, rather than one of the most powerful tools God has given His people to establish His kingdom in their lives.
But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. (Psalms 22:3, NKJV)
In other words, wherever God’s people come together to worship, we become a habitation for His presence. God comes to dwell where His people worship, and where that happens, all the power of His kingdom is present. The Lord’s Prayer begins with this kind of worship…
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven… (Matthew 6:9, 10, NKJV)
As we worship God we are reaching into the invisible realm and welcoming the entry of His divine authority, rulership, and power.
There’s a story in Acts 16 about how the Apostle Paul and his traveling companion Silas had been beaten and thrown in jail for casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl who had been harassing them. Even though they were suffering for something they had done that was right, they were not whining or complaining. They weren’t saying things like, “Oh, God, where were you when we needed you?” Instead we are told…
At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25, NKJV)
They had been severely beaten. Their legs were chained in stocks. And they were thrown into the dungeon, the deepest part of the prison. But even at this most hopeless time, Paul and Silas made the decision to praise God in the midst of it…
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (Acts 16:26, NKJV)
As we give God praise and worship in the middle of our situation—especially when it’s a rough one, or an ugly one—it opens up an entry for God to move in our situation, and other’s. And when God becomes a part of our situations, no matter how bad they are, that situation has to change.
What’s holding you bound right now? What is the prison you’re dealing with? If you’re in the midnight hour right now, and you feel like something has chained you up, begin to praise God!
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. (Psalm 100:4–5, NLT)
My prayer is that any bondages, hindrances, setbacks, discouragements, etc. in your life will be broken off of you by the power of God as you enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!
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