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In
the Presence of Praise
By Pastor Jack Hayford
We who were
fathered by the God who spoke all things into existence and who
were redeemed by Him who is called the “Word” ought to be aware
that what we say is phenomenally powerful.
So is what
we don’t say.
Among the disciplines
Jesus introduces to our lives is a new sense of responsibility for
the words that cross the threshold of our lips. This is no mere
attempt at curbing habits of sour gossip. Rather, this is an orientation
to a mighty fact concerning our potential as sons and daughters
of God.
The words of
those alive by God’s Spirit are shaping forces. They create, bind
up, release… and destroy. A full body of biblical text-support can
be marshaled to verify this fact. Peter states it tersely in 1 Peter
4:11: “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.
Don’t let “the
oracles” mystify you. It essentially means we are God’s spokesmen...
His “mouthpiece,” if you please. That ought to summon a good deal
of silence on our part, wouldn’t you think?
God does not
waste words. He does not express anything unintended or untimely.
He does not misstate Himself. He does not shutter. His Word shatters
darkness with light, smashes death with life, and burns sin with
fire. Drivel is uncharacteristic of deity. He who is eternal will
not lend His Creator-tongue to that which is trivial or frothy.
You and I,
then, must speak like sons and daughters of the Most High. We must
not dilute the force of our words with empty talk. “Let your speech
always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).
In view of
these injunctions against careless speaking, why should we place
such an emphasis on praise?
Because
praise is Scriptural....
The Book of Psalms is both guide and handbook for those who would
perform God’s will in worship. Over 150 times in that book, praise
is either enjoined or a commitment to praise is announced. Praise
is not a matter of cultural taste, but of wise response to the eternal
Word of God.
Because
praise is practical....
It not only establishes obedience before the Lord, it also releases
the worshiper from a host of binding factors that man by nature
tends to become subject to: fear, bitterness, hostility, resentment,
doubt, and guilt. These and other common limitations begin to fade
in the presence of praise.
Because
praise is physical.... How
our flesh quails when first invited to commit itself in open-hearted
praise. In Romans 12:1, we are summoned to “present [our] bodies’’
in spiritual worship to God. Upraised hands and heads are united
with uplifted voices in tasteful praise. Psalm 63:3 and 4, 1 Timothy
2:8, and many other texts invite worshipers to manifested as well
as meaningful praise.
Let us respond
simply. And let us simply respond.
In a world
so polluted with empty, foolish, and hurtful words, let’s fill our
hearts and homes, our workplaces and worship houses with a cleansing
current of praise |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233