BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

8 : B V O V His people (Psalm 22:3). The enemy is turned back, falls and perishes at the presence of our God. Praise not only honors God and empowers our faith, but also it is a powerful weapon in the realm of the spirit. Remember: It will cause satan and his forces to turn back, fall and perish at your presence. Keep the Door Open Abraham "grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God" (Romans 4:20, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition). As you praise God and speak of His marvelous works, your faith rises on the inside of you to receive the BLESSINGS of God. Honor God with the words of your mouth. Allow your words to agree with God's words where He is concerned. Look in His WORD for good things to proclaim about Him. Publish The LORD's mercy and compassion to those around you. Tell others of the great things He has done in your life. Notice that David said, "I will praise...I will show forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice...I will sing praise" (Psalm 9: 1-2). It is a matter of your will. You do not just praise God because you feel like it. You praise God because you will to praise Him. Say with David, "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart." Then watch The WORD go to work in your behalf ! One incident during Jesus' earthly ministry clearly shows the definite importance that praise can have. Luke 17:12-19 describes the cleansing of 10 lepers. All 10 of them were cleansed, but only one turned back to Jesus and glorified God. To that one man, Jesus said, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." The others were cleansed. He was made whole. As I was meditating on these scriptures, The LORD showed me a vision. I saw the man come running up to Jesus. He was cleansed— all the disease was gone from his body—but the bottom of his ear was missing. The disease had eaten it away. As he shouted and praised God, the ear was restored. He was made whole. Praise made the di™erence. If you do not know very much about praising God, I encourage you to spend time meditating in The WORD concerning praise. It will revolutionize your life! I guarantee it! David said, "I will show forth all [Your] marvellous works." If you don't know how to praise God, just find some of the things God has already done throughout the Bible and begin to praise Him for doing them. When I first began in these things, I would open my Bible and praise God by reading the Psalms out loud. From there I let the Holy Spirit lead me into praising God for things He had done in my life, and to say things that would BLESS God. One important thing I have learned is to praise God in the spirit. The real strength comes when we praise The LORD in the spirit, in other tongues. First Corinthians 14:4 says we are edified or charged up when we speak in tongues. Verse 17 says giving thanks in tongues is giving thanks well. Praising God in this way enables us to praise Him beyond our own intellects. We allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into unlimited praise and thanksgiving. This is surely perfected praise (Matthew 21:16). Let's say you are faced with a problem. You know what The WORD says about it, so you go directly to prayer. You put your faith into action against the mountain—whatever it may be. You pray and believe God for the answer. By believing God in that situation, and acting on The WORD, you are applying faith power to the mountain. It begins to move. Then satan gets involved. The only way he can stop you is by injecting unbelief so that you will stop applying pressure to the mountain. He can't stop the mountain from being moved, but he can try to stop you from applying the pressure of your faith to it. The mountain will never move until you apply the faith force necessary to move it. This is where praise comes in. While you are standing in faith—while you are applying The WORD of God to the situation—it is important to keep the praise of God on your lips. Continue to praise God for the answer. Praise Him that the mountain is moved. Don't be moved by the circumstances. Just keep your eyes on God's WORD. The WORD of God and prayer open the doors for God's power to work. Praise keeps them open. Praise will bring manifestations of the Holy Spirit and His great power. Activate the power of God in every area of your life by speaking The WORD in faith and praising God that His marvelous works have been performed in your behalf.

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