Last Saturday, in “Giving god the Praise, Part 1: How Much is Enough”, we came to understand that it is important that we praise God with at least the same intensity that we pray for our miracle.
Wait. Why should we have to say thanks as many times as we have prayed? Doesn’t God know our heart? Isn’t one thank-you enough for Him? And why does our praise need to be so specific and extnesive?
I believe the answer to these “why” quesitons is three-fold….
First of all, I have to ask myself what would happen if I were to spend as much time and effort praising for His miracles as I do stressing about them in the time leading up to the miracle. I don’t know about you, but if I were to do that, there wouldn’t be any room in my mind to even think about new problems that might arise. Thus, spending more time thanking God would be a good faith-building exercise. Think of it this way: If you are busy praising God for healing you of an ulcer, then when the doctor calls to inform you that you have a blocked artery, you’ll be too busy praising God for how He took care of your ulcer to even worry about the blocked artery. The response to God would be simple: “Okay, God! You did it before, I know You’ll do it again, and I thank you in advance for taking care of this problem!”
A second, and perhaps even more vital reason is this: The book of Deuteronomy commands the following: “You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you.” (Deut. 6:17 NIV). A few verses earlier, He says,“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:6-9 NIV). In other words, God was asking the people to do everything in their power to not forget — His commands, yes — but also the miracles, the “testimonies”; and not only this, but to “teach them diligently to your children”. This would ensure that the next generation, and the next and the next willall remember the power and the works of the Lord! If we were to diligently obey these commands from Deuteronomy 6, we would be ensuring faith for our generation, as well as for the next!
No, God’s admonition to give Him thanks, not once, but many times, has nothing to do with God wanting the praise. It is because it is good for — us!
Ps. 107 gives us some clues to a potential third reason why giving God a multitude of praise is important:
“Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.” (Vs. 2 NLT); and “Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.” (Vs. 31-32 NLT)
The truth of the matter is, when we speak forth our testimony, we unleash God’s power to others! Power to save, yes; but also power to give their own problems to God and experience His blessings and miracles personally!
Does this mean that we stand up and give our testimony in church?
Absolutely. The last time that my husband gave a public testimony about his being healed of Alzheimer’s, someone in the audience was also healed on the spot!
It isn’t confined to giving our testimony before Christians, however. We are also told to give our testimony “before the leaders of the nation”! This is serious stuff!
Why does God belabor this point?
Because it is the power of our testimony that can defeat the devil: “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony…” (Rev. 12:11 NLT)!
I don’t know about you, but the next time I get an answer to prayer, I’m going to try to remember to do something more than a simple, “praise God”! And as a warning, this may result in more praise reports being published in the Nugget….
This is the last of the “Giving God the Praise” mini-series. If you missed part 1, you can access it by clickinghere. God bless you as you begin to praise Him more and more!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(We invite you to access the entire “Give Thanks to the Lord” mini-series by clicking here.)