Psalm 150 “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud, clashing symbols! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” Today's episode reminds us how important it is to praise the Lord. It shows us that praising God can be especially helpful when we are going through a difficult time. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Praise Series - Praise Is The Way Out Of The Darkness
Psalm 150 “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud, clashing symbols! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
There is so much power in praising God, and the enemy knows that. One day, I was talking with some of the ladies in my Encounter class about dryness in prayer and when we feel we are in the darkness. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like you are doing your part, praying to God, and yet you can’t feel Him, you can’t seem to find Him? Have you ever felt like He has abandoned you? You are not alone; this happens to everyone at some point. We had a speaker at our conference who said that when we feel like God is pulling away, that is not a bad thing; it is actually a good thing.
Damian Stayne said during his talk that when we feel like God is pulling away from us, He is actually just stretching our heart muscle. If we want to grow in our faith, in our trust, in our love of God, our heart muscles must grow too. God is helping it to do that by gently pulling away at times and then coming closer. During a discussion with my friends and classmates, we talked about what we do in the dark times. One woman said she just had a few days where she felt alone. In the previous days, she had felt very close to the Lord, and it felt amazing. Then she entered a few days where she couldn’t feel the Lord. She felt alone. She said she remembered hearing somewhere that when you are in the darkness, you should praise the Lord. She decided, even though she didn’t feel like it, she would praise the Lord, and in a few days, she came out of the darkness.
I may have mentioned this before, but in case you haven't heard it, Mother Teresa was known for her love of Jesus. She had a very personal, intimate encounter with Jesus on a train once, and it fortified her faith beyond words. She loved Him. When others met her, just by being around her, they came to love Jesus too. Her love for Jesus was overflowing. Mother Teresa also went through a dark time. She would go into prayer time, and she couldn’t pray; she didn’t feel God anywhere. There were times when she questioned if He existed. She knew He did, because she had seen Him, yet she didn’t feel as if He existed. This dark period for her wasn’t just a year or two; I believe it was more like 50 years. I saw one place online that said, “For nearly 50 years, Mother Teresa endured what the church calls a 'dark night of the soul' — a period of spiritual doubt, despair, and loneliness that many of the great mystics experienced, her namesake St. Therese of Lisieux included.”
Can you imagine that? Fifty years of spiritual doubt, despair, and loneliness, and those around her did not know. She did share this information with her spiritual director, but most of those around her would have said she was a happy person, so full of the Light of God. She smiled often and spread God’s joy to many others. It makes me sad to think she didn’t have that joy inside of her. I pray that none of you listening to this podcast have to endure 50 years of suffering as she did. You will probably have to endure some times of darkness, times when you feel lonely, you think God has abandoned you, and so on. When this happens, remember this episode and praise God through it.
I believe that praising God more is the answer to so many questions. It is the solution to so many of our problems. I was praying one time while I was out for a run, and I asked God to tell me what I was doing that was different than others. I asked Him to tell me why I was able to have such a deep trust in Him, and I really felt like He said it is because I praise Him so much. I love to listen to praise and worship music. Ever since I discovered Christian music, I have been in love with it and listen to it whenever I get the chance. Spending all this time praising God has definitely increased my faith. I have also had a practice of daily (or as close to daily as I can get) gratitude. This has really made a difference, too. I think both of these help train my mind and keep it focused on the things that are important. They keep pointing me back to Jesus.
If you find yourself enduring what the church calls the “Dark night of the soul,” try praising God through it. I don’t know a lot about the “Dark Night of the Soul,” but I don’t think it is typical for it to last as long as it did for Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I believe Damian said his lasted about 10 years. However, you can also have dark periods of isolation that last just a few days, as my friend had a few weeks ago. The timing of it all is up to God. God has a purpose for this period of isolation, and only He knows when it has done its job.
I don’t know that praising God while you are in the Darkness will get you out of the darkness any faster because God has His own timing. I do believe that it will help you endure the darkness better. I believe praising God is a great way to step outside your thoughts and focus on Him and all He has done for you.
I am going to read Psalm 150 to you again so you can hear the intensity with which the author of Psalm believes in praising the Lord. I think the words of the Psalm are the best words to leave you with today.“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud, clashing symbols! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to praise you and love you forever. Lord, we ask that you be with everyone, even those going through that dark night of the soul. I pray that you give them the strength they need to make it through to the other side. We know that on the other side of that darkness is light. We know it is not just light, but also growth and new treasures that you have for us on the other side. We thank you, Lord, you are truly remarkable. We know you never abandon us, and we love you for it! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in July 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Resting is the word, from your worries, from your thoughts, from your concerns. Rest. All is well. Trust. Know that I am the Great I Am of all things. So rest.”