Get your praise and worship on! There is power in praise. Praise is joyfully telling of all that God has done for us with thanksgiving that we offer back to Him for everything that He has done and will continue to do on our behalf. The source of praise is the Holy Spirit, who activates our spirit and soul to express our appreciation and adoration of God’s goodness and greatness (James 1:17; Psalm 116:12, 17; 1 Chronicles 16:25). He invites praise from all of His creation. He is worthy of praise, dwells in our praise, and it gives us access to Him (Psalm 18:3; 22:3; 100:4). Praise brings deliverance and victory (2 Chronicles 20)! As you enter into praise, meditate on what the Lord has provided for you through the blood of Jesus. We are to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).
I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth! Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night. On an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. Great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. Psalm 92:1 – 5 (NKJV)
There is a difference between praise and worship. Praise can be a part of worship, but worship goes beyond praise. Worship is our reverence, awe, and devotion of God. It is our love for Him responding to His love for us. It is expressing our love, gratitude, and thanksgiving to Him for who He is, for His goodness and what He has done (Psalm 106:1). God created us to have fellowship with Him, to reveal His glory (Psalm 50:23), and to worship Him (Isaiah 43:7, 21). When we minister to the Lord through worship, prayer, and spending time with Him and His Word, we come into His presence, and we are changed. Everything in our lives flows from this place of relationship. Intimacy with Him produces worship of Him and a more profound revelation of who He is (2 Corinthians 3:18; Acts 3:19).
Worship is an attitude of the heart and is associated with surrender to Him. To truly worship God, we must be willing to humble ourselves before Him and surrender every part of our lives to Him because of who He is, not just what He has done. We acknowledge His rightful place as Lord of our lives. Worship brings us into His manifested presence where healing and fullness of joy are found (Psalm 16:11)!
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 (NKJV)
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God and the great King above all gods. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Psalm 95:1-3; 6 – 7 (NKJV)
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 96:9 (NKJV)
Psalms in the Bible speak of praising, thanking, blessing, and worshiping God. They are full of expressions of worship, i.e., clapping, shouting, singing, dancing, with instruments, bowing down, lifting hands, and speaking words of blessing (Psalm 9:11; 98:4; 150:4; etc.)! Bowing, kneeling, or lifting of hands help to create an attitude of humility during worship (2 Chronicles 29:28 – 29). However, it is not our outward motions that count but our heart (Psalm 51:16 – 17).
Over the past few weeks, we examined the condition of our hearts and His call to action to repent and surrender wholeheartedly to Him. We are to worship Him with all of our hearts and not just with our words.
“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Matthew 15:7 – 9 (NKJV)
I will praise You with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. Psalm 9:1 (NKJV)
We offer up a sacrifice of praise! We can sing a new song. We can worship Him with our lives, time, talents, helping others, and through the giving of our tithes and offerings. By studying God’s Word, we will find out how to worship the Lord in spirit and truth.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for, with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. Hebrews 13:15 – 16 (NKJV)
Worship is a lifestyle, not just an activity that we do. We can worship the Lord anytime and anywhere!
Our worship of God has come under attack recently in the United States of America. Our churches were closed, and the governor of the State of California banned singing and chanting in houses of worship to stop the spread of Covid-19. I believe this is a plan of the enemy to quiet our voices, to keep us from declaring who God is, revealing His glory, and His body dwelling in unity (Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews 10:24-25).
2020 is the Hebrew year 5780, year of the mouth. As prophetic people, we are to proclaim or decree God’s Word over our lives, families, cities, and nations (Matthew 10:27). Worship is a weapon! The Lord has said recently through His prophets that our corporate worship will bring the breakthroughs that we need and are looking to receive during this time. There is power in corporate worship!
Praise the Lord! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishment on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment – this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord! Psalm 149:1-9 (NKJV)
So that is why I am encouraging you to worship in the streets, beaches, and marketplace. You can ask the Lord how to do it. It doesn’t even have to be with a crowd or involve singing. Worship includes clapping, dancing, playing instruments, etc. Jesus is in the midst where two or three gather together in His name (Matthew 18:20). Gather with your family, other believers outside, or in Zoom meetings. We can still wear masks and use social distancing as required. We have seen praise and worship breaking out at the beach, downtown in some cities, in parking lots of churches and parks.
Even if you are allowed to sing where you live, worship is vital. It will change the atmosphere and usher in His glory and the victory that Christ has won for us. The Lord can give you creative ideas on how to worship if you ask Him! Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I saw a post on CBN news about a gospel group on an open-air double-decker bus (without a roof) in the UK driving around to different locations worshiping the Lord and declaring His glory!
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 (NKJV)
There are many praise and worship songs and playlists you can find on youtube. The Lord instructed me to create some worship playlists on my youtube channel for you to worship the Lord and to share with others. I call them Wednesday’s Worship, but they aren’t just for Wednesday’s! Some playlists are worship, and praise and others declare our victory and say no more fear! Please follow this link to my youtube channel at Https://linktr.ee/ascarucci
Let us bless the Lord continually and get our praise and worship on!
Living the Abundant Life 