Today’s Reading:
Psalms 42
Psalms 100
Philippians 4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is [c]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 [d]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-8 NASB 1995
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [e]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [f]dwell on these things.
The Spirit of the Living God says,
Bring a sacrifice of praise. Praise opens the gateways. Praise opens the pathways to My Presence. Look at David. He learned that the sacrifice of praise was how he gained access to My Presence. It’s how he gained access to the courtyards of My heart. As he brought the sacrifice of praise when he was in distress, in fear, under threat of death, it was this sacrifice of praise that silenced the enemy’s voice. It silenced the swirl and bombardments of chaos, fear and very real danger. Do the same. You are safe in My courts. Bring the sacrifice of pure praise, and see things shift before your eyes. Praise changes your perspective, and it changes your reality.
“So I speak over my heartbroken soul, “Take courage. Remember when you used to be right out front leading the procession of praise when the great crowd of worshipers gathered to go into the presence of the Lord? You shouted with joy as the sound of passionate celebration filled the air and the joyous multitude of lovers honored the feast of the Lord!” So then, my soul, why would you be depressed? Why would you sink into despair? Just keep hoping and waiting on God, your Savior. For no matter what, I will still sing with praise, for you are my saving grace! Here I am depressed and downcast. Yet I will still remember you as I ponder the place where your glory streams down from the mighty mountaintops, lofty and majestic—the mountains of your awesome presence. My deep need calls out to the deep kindness of your love. Your waterfall of weeping sent waves of sorrow over my soul, carrying me away, cascading over me like a thundering cataract. All through the day Yahweh has commanded his endless love to pour over me. Through the night I sing his songs and my praises to the living God.”
Psalms 42:4-8 TPT
Be one who leads the procession of praise into My Presence. Show others the way. This is a peacetime strategy, and this is a wartime strategy. This is a year-round strategy. Seek me, and you shall find me. Knock and the door shall be opened to you. Sing and watch as the gates of My Presence swing wide to grant you access to My heart, My ways, My throne. Worship is a weapon. Worship is a key. Bring your thanksgiving-filled worship before Me, and watch how it changes your scene. Watch how it changes your heart. Watch how what you see changes as you live in beautiful, worshipful praise before Me.
“Lift up a great shout of joy to Yahweh! Go ahead and do it—everyone, everywhere! Worship Yahweh with gladness. Sing your way into his presence with joy! And realize what this really means— we have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God. For he is our Creator and we belong to him. We are the people of his pleasure.
Psalms 100 TPT
You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise. Come right into his presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to him and affectionately bless his beautiful name! For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for he keeps his promises to every generation!”
Bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. You are my temple now, so fill your heart, your mouth and your mind with worshipful thanksgiving at all times, and My gates, the gates to My Presence will stand open for you. Watch as your life becomes so much lighter. Watch as your load becomes less burdensome. Watch as your path becomes more clear. This all happens through a lifestyle of worshipful thanksgiving and sacrificial offerings of praise.
How to Respond
- Stir up praise to the Lord. Make praise a discipline in your life.
- Pray, Holy Spirit thank You for taking up residence inside of me. Thank You for guiding me and leading me into all righteousness. Put songs in my heart to sing to You. Stir up reminders of Your goodness and faithfulness, so I can praise you all the more. Show me what it looks like to live a life of unceasing praise to my King. That’s what I want to do.
- Declare, great is the Lord and worthy of all praise, all honor and all glory. Better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.
- Decree, I will not withhold the song in my heart from the Lord my God. I will stir up worshipful thanksgiving and sing praises to my King. I will bring the sacrifice of praise, and I will begin to live a life of disciplined unceasing praise to the Lord. I will dwell in the Presence of the Lord because of my lifestyle of praise to Him — for who He is, all that He has done and all that He continues to do in my life.
For more encouragement from Glory & the New Wine, check out the post from this day in 2022: The Glory of the Lord Will Destroy the Divide
And in 2021: It’s Time for a Widespread Cleanup
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