Saturday, March 6, 2010

Praise brings us into His presence

We have a beautiful ‘word picture’ to consider today from Psalm 24:3…our God inhabits the praises of His people! Farther along in the Psalms (100:4), we are told we enter in His gates with thanksgiving. Isn’t that exciting? Our great and mighty God has provided us an audience with Him through the simple act of praise. Far too often, though, we fail to enter into the Lord’s presence. We mouth words that give us a little hint of pleasure but when difficulties come, the truths are not deep in our hearts. We think we have worshipped but we have only gone through the motions.

The presence of God brings peace in the midst of storms; entering into His presence is a privilege and a necessity for living victoriously. Praise lifts us above our circumstances and reminds us of the nature of our awesome God. Often we equate worship and praise with songs; we must not forget singing is simply a tool to use in worship. Often the words we sing were born in hearts that knew great pain; the writer’s poured out their hearts in worship. That does not mean we worship as we sing. We must learn to discipline our hearts to hear the words we sing; we must teach our own hearts to pour out truths when we are facing troubles.

Our hearts can not pour out what they do not know. Throughout scripture God encourages ‘deep knowing. True knowing means allowing truths to penetrate our very being and be a part of our essence. We must seek Him all the time and seek to know Him more. Then we are to be disciples who put into practice the facts we have learned. True heart worship, truly praising God, is an ultimate act of knowing God and will bring us into His presence. The words of truth about the character and nature of God flowing from our hearts will bring us into His transforming light. Even with heartache facing us, knowing who God is will allow us to enjoy the love that casts out all fear. He is in control; He is all-powerful and He is loving us at every moment. We need to practice praise all the time so that it will be our first reaction in a storm. Try it today…look at the greatness all around and offer praise to God. Dig into His Word, learn more truths to store in your heart. Enjoy His presence…don’t settle for anything less!

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