Psalm 113:1-2 "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.” Today's episode talks a bit about what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about praise. It also talks about how important praise it when you are having a really hard time. If you are stuck in a dry prayer season or you are being spiritually attacked, praise can be immensely helpful. 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 The Lord, Both Now And Forevermore
Psalm 113:1-2 "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.”
This verse was given at prayer group last week and when I first looked it up I was hesitant. I had a little conversation with God about how I have already talked about praise a lot and that maybe I should use a different scripture. I still think it is so crazy how I always try to talk to God about how my ideas might be better than His or try to tell him something like He doesn’t already know everything. Anyway, while I was trying to convince God about how I wasn’t sure praise was the topic I should talk about today, he reminded me of what I learned while listening to Father Mike’s Catechism in a year podcast.
This podcast is so great. I know I have talked to several of you that started it and couldn’t really get into it and so you stopped. I just want to say that I get it. It was not super interesting like the Bible in a year was when it first started. Now, I love it. I thought it was going to be just a litany of rules that I didn’t really want to listen to but that I would because I want to be able to defend my faith to others, especially my loved ones, and also because I truly want to know why Catholic’s believe what we believe. I was so wrong. It is not at all a litany of rules. It is an explanation of so much. It talks about who God is, Who Jesus is, Who the Holy Spirit it, who they are in relationship to one another. That part was beautiful. Recently we have been talking about the mass and why, where, when and how we meet. I had no idea about most of the stuff he is talking about. It helps me to see the mass in a whole new light. A much needed new light.
I have always liked being Catholic. I mean I didn’t always love going to mass every single week, even when on vacation. I didn’t love getting picked up early from a friend’s house so I could go to mass. However, I did like the mass. I like how I know what to expect, I like how every mass is the same all over the world. I love that we have the body and blood of Jesus at mass. I love all the prayers and sacraments. I love being Catholic and yet after listening to the Catechism in a year I am falling even more in love with our faith. It is not just about our faith either, it is about so many things. I thought it would be a bit like the 10 commandments, a list of we can do this and we can’t do that. However, it explains in so much detail not only what we believe, but why we believed it and where in the Bible you can find reference to it. It has been amazing.
This week was about the mass and it was talking about praise, specifically praise music. The church says that out of all of the art, out of all of the things that can help us pray well, singing and music is of inestimable value, greater than that of any other art. That is from CCC #1156. The reason for music and praise songs being so important is because they combine sacred music and words. Many praise songs use words right out of the Bible. I remember when I first noticed this I was so excited. After I went to a retreat with the Military Council of Catholic Woman, I picked up a CD of Anne Trufant's music. I had no idea that Christian music was a thing. I mean I knew we sang songs at church but I didn’t know there was Christian artist in all genres of music. It was the greatest discovery ever! While I was listening to this music all the time and starting to learn the words, I would then begin to see or hear the words when I was reading or listening to the Bible, or when I was in church.
Over the last few years when I talk with God about the growth in my prayer life, the deepening trust I have in Him and His plan, and the calm I am able to have in the storm, He repeatedly tells me it is due to my praise. I truly feel praise can deepen our faith more than we know. The more we praise, the more we can see the amazing things God does for us, even in the hard times. When we are focused on praise, we are focused on finding the good, even in a bad situation.
Praise can be hard at times. There can be times when we feel as though we don’t have any reason to praise God. There can be times when it feels like everything is against us, everything we try fails. When it is hard for us to praise, I think this is a sign that we need to praise all the more. The good thing about praising God is that you can do it through listening to music. You don’t even have to say anything if you don’t want to. You can let the words of the music just wash over you. The song writer and singers of Christian music do such a good job of praising God. They have taken lyrics right from the Bible and put them to music. Not only is this good because we get to hear God’s words, but also because it helps us learn them.
Matt Maher took the Our Father prayer and made it into a song with a nice beat. He did this because one of his friends texted him one day and said that he thought it would be a great way for kids to learn the Our Father. Just picture kids hanging out and singing along to that song. I am betting more people have prayed the Our Father through singing that song than they did before. “He who sings,” said St. Augustine, “prays twice.” The holy Bishop of Hippo meant that singing adds to our praise and worship of God—that our voices are gifts, with which we can make music to the Lord.
Another thing praise is good for is to pull you out of a dry season of prayer or an attack of Spiritual Warfare. If you are trying to pray and yet nothing is coming, or if you are feeling oppressed by the enemy, put on some praise music. The enemies don’t understand why we praise God, especially when we are struggling. It confuses them and they leave. If we can praise God when we are struggling to pray we will be rewarded. We will see fruit from our praise.
I know I have said this before but I will keep saying it because I know it is hard to hear. You can always praise God, even in though times. You don’t have to praise Him for that hard time, you can praise Him for the small ways He is showing you He is there. For instance, a beautiful sunrise, a text from a concerned friend, a really great cup of coffee, a small step in the right direction. Whatever it is, no matter how small it is, just stop and praise God for it. I truly believe that things get better faster when we can praise God in the middle of the storm. Take a second and look at your life. Where could you add a little praise into it? Could you listen to praise music while you clean up, or while you drive? Could you spend 2 minutes while you drink your morning cup of coffee or tea and thank God for 3 things He did yesterday? Can you wake up and thank God for letting you wake up to a brand new day before your feet ever hit the floor? How can we praise God today? How can we add it to our daily routine?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to praise you, we want to thank you, please show us how. Lord, we are so grateful for all you do and we are sorry if we haven’t said so lately. We are sorry if we let the over whelm the world and of our situation prevent us from seeing your glory at times. We know you are amazing. We know you are the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. You are the beginning and the end and we are so grateful for you. We are grateful you choose us to have a relationship with. We are grateful you redeemed us. 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. If you would like an autographed copy of my book with a personal message just for you, CLICK HERE. If you get a message that says it is unavailable, that will go away as soon as you pick regular or personalized. Also, if you would like to receive my weekly newsletter CLICK HERE. I look forward to bringing you a witness tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you and so do I! Have a blessed day!