Acts 16:22-25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God.
INTRODUCTION
Normally, all prayer should begin with praise and worship. Praise pierces the darkness, dynamites longstanding obstructions, and sends demons of hell fleeing. Praise is as essential to powerful praying as air is to breathing. Praise is the aspect of prayer that gives glory to God. It is recognizing God as the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe. The Psalmist said “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving and go into His courts with praise” Psalm 100:2-4. Apostle Paul spoke on two occasions of “making melody our hearts unto the Lord with spiritual songs.” Eph 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.
Let consider three aspects of praise that can bless our lives and add effectiveness to our prayer.
• Praise God for who He is
• Praise God for what He has done
• Praise God for what He is going to do
Praise as spiritual warfare strategy: Acts 16:22-25
Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel, they were apprehended and brought before the rulers, charged and beaten, and then cast into prison with their feet placed in chains. Their backs were sore and bleeding, every part of their bodies ached. But these men did not sit down and feel sorry for themselves or have pity-party, nor were they moaning and complaining “why did this have to happen to us?”. No, they Bible said they “sang praises unto God.” What an example for us today.
We can learn a lot of lessons from Paul and Silas in their midnight hour. After all, they were in trouble, they were in pain, and they were in prison. Looking at it, it was a bad and unpleasant situation. One could hardly blame them for being discouraged. But they weren’t, instead they rejoiced.
In the example of Paul and Silas, we can find help for our midnight hour, our time of testing, when the storms of life hit our body, our family, our finance, relationship, children, church or society. V25-26 and at midnight Paul and Silas sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them, and suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed”. Deliverance came while they were praising God.
Praise as a spiritual weapon – 11 Chronicles 20:15-22
v-22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten.”
Jehoshaphat knew his army was no match for those of the invading enemies, but he knew his God was more than a match for them. When they went out against the enemy’s powerful armies, they did not go against them with swords and spears, but with song of praise v21. They marched and chanted “Praise the Lord; for His mercy endures forever” in their hour of trial and national crisis, instead of them panicking in fear, the children of Israel sang praises to God, just as Paul and Silas did in prison. What was the outcome of this battle, they won, without raising a sword, without suffering any loss.
The Benefits of Praise
Praise renews your strength
Praising God refreshes your spirit, energizes your soul, revives and brings fresh anointing on you. The presence of God and His holy angels that comes down when you praise Him drives away fear, frustration, tension, depression. Praise turns on God’s light and drives out darkness. Praise cleanses the atmosphere of demonic presence and activities, it gives a heavenly transfusion. Praise will change the atmosphere of your home, church or place of work or business.
Praise will leads you to a higher spiritual ground – Isaiah 58:14
“Then shalt though delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of thy father Jacob; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
The expression “delight” means to thoroughly enjoy the Lord. It concerns loving God because He is God, nothing more, nothing less, and the result is automatic, we will “ride upon the high places” meaning, we will advance in our Christian experience to a higher dimension of glory, anointing, favor, grace, wisdom and blessings.
Praise unite you in spirit with the angels – Hebrews 1:14
Spiritual battles are won in the invisible realm by prayer and by the active assistance of God’s angels who are assigned to be our helpers. When you begin to praise God, the angels gather around you and join in your joy of praising the living God. You don’t see them but they are there.
Praise puts the devil on the run – Matthew 8:29
Satan and his cohorts fear the presence of God. When you praise God His presence descend to meet with you – for the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. One thing the devil fear is to come face to face with Jesus, for the presence of Christ tortures demonic spirits. Luther once said “let us sing a hymn and spite the devil”. Praise is the Christian’s heavy artillery; praise is an effective weapon is spiritual battles.
How To Praise God
• Praise is vocalizing our love for God - Psalm 33:1 –
• Praise is to be expressed in public – Psalm 35:18
• In the presence of others Psalm 34:3
• Praise is to be declared Psalm 9:14
Hebrews 13:15 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of the lips that confess his name.
Praise can transform your daily prayer life. Praise honors God, brings joy to the angels, and pierces the darkness and disarmed your enemies. Praise clears the atmosphere, cleanses your spirit from worries and anxieties that may be clustering around your spirit, multiplies your faith, and clothes you with God presence and power.
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me bless his holy name. – Psalm 103:1
