Have you ever thought that praising God works like a heavenly aspirin?  We take pain relievers for pain we are experiencing in our body.  We know the pain relievers ONLY treat the symptoms of a problem, they don’t really cure anything.  However, the Word of God works differently in that the power in the Word cures the problem. Just as the pain relievers won’t do anything for us until we take them, the Word of God won’t do anything for us just sitting on the coffee table or book shelf. We must read and apply it to our lives.

The Bible calls praise a garment in Isaiah 61:3.  Garments are clothing. Clothing protects us from the elements of the world.  Praising God works the same way; it protects us from the elements of the world’s ways.  Praising God will keep our heart, mind, and spirit focused on HIM and therefore will keep us from thinking and doing things the world’s way. We wear this garment of praise with our words. When we speak the Word of God over us, the power of the praise covers us.

This Scripture (Isaiah 61:3) also tells us that praise is for the spirit of heaviness.  This heaviness can manifest itself in several ways: depression, worry, bitterness, strife, contention, jealousy, and sadness or extended grief to mention only a few.  All those names work like a darkness hanging over us affecting our feelings, thoughts, words, and behavior.  If we give negative recognition to them on a regular basis they become strongholds in our lives.  An example might be if a person is always saying, “I’m so tired”, “I just can’t remember anything anymore”, or “I just get the flu every winter”.  It’s through our words that we choose the course of our life.  If we give Bible recognition to those same symptoms we will overcome them by the word of our testimony and the power of the Word of God.  Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue and we eat the fruit of it”.  Each day is a product of the words we’ve spoken in times past.

Mark 11:24 teaches us that we have what we say, and it works both in the negative and the positive; with fear and with faith. However, faith and fear do not work together so the results of our words are difference.  It is from the abundance of our heart that we speak and that abundance is a product of the treasures we put into our heart (and mind) by what we are reading, watching and listening to on TV, the movies and even music videos. (Luke 6:45)

As I mentioned earlier, we take an aspirin when we are experiencing pain in our physical body.   When our soul aches with loneliness, hurt feelings, discouragement, rejection, regret etc, we need to take the Word of God into our mind and soul by reading the Bible and confessing the truths of God’s Word, speaking His blessings over us.  Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world”.  When we praise God, His Light shines bright in us and reaches into our soul lifting and dispelling the darkness coming against us.

First Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to “praise God in all things”; not necessarily for all things but in all things, recognizing that God can work things out for our good. (Romans 8:28)  Praising God actually opens our heart to receive from Him what we need, whether it’s strength and healing for our body, or wisdom for a decision that needs to be made.  I learned a long time ago that when I struggle with a situation that seems to want to weigh me down, it is praising God that restores my joy and strength.  It’s amazing what freedom and joy I have when I focus my attention on HIM.  You might ask if that changes my circumstances and I would have to say, “Not always immediately”, but it does change my perspective of the situation and lots of times gives me the wisdom and insight to how to handle those situations.  It is during this difficult time that we can put into practice Hebrews 13:15  – offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name.

We need to remember that praising God is a choice and should be based on Who HE is, and our love for Him, not our feelings or the circumstances.   Make the decision each day to praise the Lord continually.

Psalm 106:1 – Praise the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever.

Psalm 34:1 – I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.