PRAISE & WORSHIP

Acts 16:23-26 "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:(24) Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.(25) And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.(26) And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed."

We so often hear of Praise and Worship. Now a days it is very popular in churches in songs that are sung. What does it really mean when we say that we have "praise and worship" in our
church or even in our homes.

Praise and Worship is more then singing a song, enjoying the beat and even lifting our hands
to Heaven while we sing or listen to the song. When we Praise and really mean it from the heart we are elevating ourselves up into God's presence and is the door we enter into for worship. That is why we have Praise and Worship leaders and teams that sing and ushers in the presence and gets the congregations mind focus up on the Lord. The Praise team (if they are anointed and have a sincere heart) leads the way for the presence of God to move among the people and prepare the way for the minister to bring forth the word of God.

The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). In other words, God "dwells" in the atmosphere of His praise. The psalmist writes, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name" (Psalms 100:4).
Praise means "to commend, to applaud or magnify." For the Christian, praise to God is an expression of worship, lifting-up and glorifying the Lord. It is an expression of humbling ourselves and centering our attention upon the Lord with heart-felt expressions of love, adoration and thanksgiving. High praises bring our spirit into a pinnacle of fellowship and intimacy between ourselves and God — it magnifies our awareness of our spiritual union with the most high God. Praise transports us into the realm of the supernatural and into the power of God. "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance" (Psalms 89:15).

So lets start today to Praise and Worship God in our everyday life.

Open up the door to go into his presence and just love on the Lord in your own way.

Be Blessed
Karen D.