Use the power of praise

You can praise God too little, but you can never praise Him too much. David wrote, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3). “Seven times a day do I praise thee” (Psalm 119:164). “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” When you are overwhelmed by circumstances, the last thing you feel like doing is praising God. But it’s the first thing you should do, because praise gets your attention off yourself and onto God’s miraculous power. Jehoshaphat faced an army he had no hope of defeating. But when he started to praise God, his enemies destroyed each other while he looked on in amazement. When Paul and Silas praised God in prison, their chains broke and the doors opened. It’s normal to focus on the problem and forget to praise God, but praise solves problems. Peter wrote, “The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Start to acknowledge the power of praise and choose to exalt God regardless of how you feel. Praise brings you into God’s presence and positions you for His favour and blessing. You say, “But I don’t understand how praise works.” Think about it like this: you don’t have to understand aerodynamics in order to fly. You just get on the plane and the pilot takes you where you need to go. It’s the same when you praise God—just do it and you’ll get results.