PRAYING - WITH PRAISES
12th Mar 2014
Psalm 66:16-17 in the Living Bible says, “Come and hear, all of you who reverence the Lord, and I will tell you what He did for me: For I cried to Him for help, with praises ready on my tongue.” What a way to pray!
Our prayers so often spring from great need, at a time of stress and anxiety, which can cause us to feel burdened, discouraged and fearful. These deep emotions and concerns can blunt faith and damage hope, when praying with faith is so important.
As I read these words from the Psalm, I felt that God was giving a key to effective prayer. For when we “cry to Him for help” we need to be offloading our burden onto the One who is able to do “more than we can ask or imagine”, then we need to fill our hearts and mouths with praise to God.
Some years ago a friend said to me, “You can pray or you can worry, you can’t do both.” If you pray you need to stop worrying, because you have given that worry and burden to Jesus.
Once you have, “cried to Him for help” your next step is to have your “praises ready on your tongue.” Praise is powerful - it gets your eyes off the problem, which is trying to pull you down and destroy you, and gets your eyes on God, who is able to meet your every need and answer your prayer.
Praise builds your confidence in God. Praise restores your perspective. Praise lifts you out of despair and puts joy back into your heart. Praise takes out the fear that is churning inside you, and gives you a peace that is beyond understanding.
The final verse of Psalm 66 in the Living Bible says, “Blessed be God who didn’t turn away when I was praying, and didn’t refuse me His kindness and love.”
by Charles Sibthorpe
