Created for the Praise of His Glory!
When we stand for the restoration of our marriages, it is VITALLY important that we FULLY understand that God created us for His praise and glory and that we have to learn to do so if we want to experience the victorious life Jesus came to give us, including the restoration of our marriages and families. There are MANY passages of scripture that make the purpose for our very existence abundantly clear; such as 1 Peter 2:9, which states But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. And Psalm 150:6 even says Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. And Isaiah 43:18-21 certainly applies as we stand for the restoration of our marriages; confirming that God created us for His praise, and even that He expects us to LOOK for reasons to praise Him, because it says “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. And Ephesians 1:11-12 says In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
So, make no mistake about it; God is not pleased with us when we don’t praise Him and give Him the honor and glory He expects and deserves; thus NOT fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. And Jeremiah 13:10-14 provides a very powerful illustration of that, along with a STRONG warning about what happens when we don’t; it says These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! For as a belt is bound around a man’s waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,’ declares the LORD, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’ “Say to them: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ then tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.'” If that doesn’t get our attention and make us understand how serious God is about getting the praise from us that He demands and deserves, I can’t imagine what will! GOD IS VERY SERIOUS ABOUT PRAISE; so let’s open our mouths and set our hands to praising Him!
I have often offended people in the past because I’m such a stickler for publicly giving God praise for everything He does for us and for refusing to allow grumbling and complaining; but that’s because I get it, and I know and understand the supernatural power praising God releases into our lives, especially as we stand for the restoration of our marriages, and that grumbling and complaining will just cause the Lord to leave us wandering in the wilderness of separation and divorce just as He did the Israelites. As the Word tells us, He is the same yesterday, today and forever! And one of the most amazing stories in the Bible demonstrating the supernaturally victorious power of praise is found in 2 Chronicles 20, where verse 22 says As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. So I strongly encourage everyone to read and study this passage of scripture, because it’s particularly encouraging when we face all the forces coming against us as we stand for our marriages; whether in the earthly or spiritual realm.
So it’s always very personally rewarding to see men and women begin to really understand the importance of giving God praise, honor and glory for EVERYTHING He does for us, and it’s been a real blessing to see how some of the FAM Fellowship members have recently come to understand and acknowledged that the Lord HAD to bring trouble to their marriages to make them realize how bad things were and give them an opportunity to make the changes necessary to make their marriages what God always wanted and intended them to be as they learn to trust and obey Him and put HIM FIRST…ABOVE ALL ELSE. We serve a great and mighty God who is ALWAYS blessing us in so many ways, but He does command and expect us to praise Him and give Him all the glory He deserves. A while back, I was trying to convince one of the fellowship members to share her praises on the private website, which she does now, and she told me she was writing it all down in her journal. So I asked her just how much glory God gets from that; not one bit! Luke 8:16 even says “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. And 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. And there’s no doubt that encouragement is one of the greatest comforts possible when we’re down and out and discouraged, or that the words of our praise reports and testimonies bring encouragement, hope and comfort to others who are suffering in similar circumstances, which glorifies and magnifies the power and promise of God as little else does and defeats and overcomes the devil just as Revelation:12-10-11 declares. So the following verses are just a few to consider as we strive to understand what the Lord teaches us about praising Him for EVERYTHING and that we’re to continually do so. And the more we make praise our habit, the more blessed and encouraged we’ll be, because the Lord WILL bless and reward us by giving us even more to praise Him for, which is powerfully confirmed and illustrated in The Parable of the Talents. So read it and heed the warning concerning what God does when we allow our fear, doubt, or indifference to keep us from bringing increase and glory to His kingdom when we hide away or bury what He has done for us; thereby STEALING AND DENYING THE PRAISE, HONOR AND GLORY DUE HIM.
Psalm 100:4-5 – Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Isaiah 63:7 – I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
Jeremiah 33:9 – Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
1 Peter 4:11 – If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 150:1-2 – Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Romans 15:11 – And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.”
Psalm 34:1-3 – I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 71:14-15 – But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.
Dear Lord, I thank You for bringing every man and woman standing for marriage restoration to the understanding of how serious You are about getting the praise, honor and glory for EVERYTHING You do in our lives and that when we show ourselves unworthy and unreliable to praise You in the small things, there’s no reason for You to expect us to do any better when You give us even greater blessings and praises. There’s no use giving us a powerful testimony for YOUR glory when we have already demonstrated that we won’t use it for the glory of Your name and kingdom – because we are really more focused on our own needs and pleasure! Lord, since there are many who have yet come to understand the power of praise, I pray that through the power of Your Holy Spirit, You will bring this vitally important revelation to the heart, mind and spirit of every man and woman reading this, because I so want every one of them to experience Your power and glory fully manifested in their lives and in the restoration of their marriages and families! You are so awesome and so worthy to be praised and we need to praise You over and over again for the many wonderful blessings You pour out into our lives EVERY day! We are a VERY blessed people and it’s time we recognize just how blessed we are and use the power of our testimonies to stop the devil DEAD IN HIS TRACKS! Your Word tells us very plainly that the WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY has the power to defeat the devil and to hurl him down, so we have no one but ourselves to blame when he continues to steal, kill and destroy everything precious and dear in our lives! It’s time to stand up to him with the weapons of warfare You have so graciously provided; and praising your Holy name and the works of your mighty hand is certainly a powerful one! We love and adore You, Sweet Jesus, and we do give You ALL PRAISE, HONOR AND GLORY, as we thank You and ask these things in the authority of Your most powerful name and for Your glory! Amen.
And when we remember that every praise is for His glory and not about us, then we really have to share. I used to feel that if I praised for every little thing, other people would get discouraged because I was receiving so many blessings and not them. But I got straightened out fast, and reminded that it was not about me but that it is about thanking God for all things and that when I did, He would continue to give me something else to praise HIM for.
Another thing is that when we share, we don’t know who might need that encouragement, but God does. When someone reads a praise, they might think “Hey, I have one too.” And they might get a different perspective and see God’s hand all over something in their life. I remember even thanking God for being able to do my husband’s laundry; so praise Him for everything and share it for His glory. It pleases God and it’s what we are called to do.
Praise is also a powerful form of prayer, because we are putting our faith in God and giving Him glory and honor. No one would argue that prayer is not an important part of our relationship with God, so praise is right there too. When we praise Him, we are inviting His presence and we know He wants to be with us. And when we invite Him to be with us through praise and worship, He comes and fulfills us in ways that we never expected. And that is when things change; hearts, minds, souls, attitudes and situations. We are able to let go of the fleshly and worldly things when we praise Him because we are focused on Godly things. Openly loving Him and honoring Him will glorify Him and let his love and light shine through us to others too. It gives us an opportunity to open the door and further deepen our relationship with Him. Praising Him can be done any where at any time and it shows Him how often we are thinking of Him and allows us to have weapons against Satan at a second’s notice. Praising God is another way that we can receive his Word and use it to glorify Him and to defeat the enemy. God is so awesome in giving us exactly what we need and when we need it, and praising Him does just that. God wants and demands to be the focus of our hearts, minds, and souls and we can do that through praising Him. I know how blessed I am when I am praising the Father and the benefits I receive as I show Him He is first in my life. Praise will never go unnoticed.
And any time we glorify God; He is pleased!