The Powerful Purpose of Praise!

Four Powerful Principles of Praise:

1) Praise is what we do when we come into His courts - In the OT worshippers always came before God with a sacrifice.  We are admonished by Paul to offer our bodies as living sacrifices as reasonable worship.  You never come before a king without a gift or sacrifice of some kind.  Praise is something we bring before God when we come into His presence and before His throne. (Psalm 100)

Psalm 100

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

2) Praise creates an atmosphere or environment for the presence of the Lord to come and abide.  He said that He inhabits, or is holy enthroned upon the praises of Zion.   This is the realm of His abiding presence.  GOD DWELLS IN PRAISE!  This is the place of His holy habitation and the atmosphere of heaven where God dwells.  When we praise we bring heaven down to earth and God says, "This reminds me of home...I think I will come down for a visit!"

3) Praise in scripture is an offensive weapon that is often employed in battle.  Praise is an instrument of war.  It is “high praise” not “high worship” that executes judgment written in God’s Word (Ps. 149:6-9).   Praise is aggressive whereas worship is submissive and more sensitive.

Ps. 149:6-9  

6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7  to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,

8  to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,

9 to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD.

4) Praise is an act of faith and obedience.  Extolling the Lord in spite of how we feel and circumstances that exist.  We praise first and the feelings follow.  (Ex. Paul & Silas)  Principle:  We praise in faith and God inhabits our praises and the atmosphere changes and breakthrough miracles are possible in His presence!

We choose to "praise" in faith -- we do not wait until we feel "it"!

Psalm 34:1

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 7:2 

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 9:2

I will sing with joy because of you...    I will sing praise to you, Almighty God.

Psalm 13:6

I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 30:12 

To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 57:7

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody.

Psalm 57:9

I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.

Praise is a matter of "will" ... not "feel"!  Praise Him anyhow saints!!