"Thank and praise! Thank and praise!" are the words that reverberated and echoed through my ears, and later into my soul, as my mom told me to do during a season of my life when all I wanted to do was anything but "Thank and praise."
Thank and praise? Now? Why? For what?
Thank and praise for heartbreak? Thank and praise for rejection? Thank and praise for disappointment? Thank and praise for broken dreams?
Thank and praise God, because His No is actually His best Yes.
Thank and praise God, because man’s rejection is His protection.
Thank and praise God, because delay is not His denial.
How can one thank and praise God when all their circumstances scream otherwise? When all their hopes are shattered? When they’ve lost loved ones or are struggling with illness or are in deep financial crisis or are spending yet another holiday season alone?
The Christian life is not a life void of problems, but a life full of Christ. He will give us the strength and courage to overcome those problems with Him by our side as long as we open up our hearts and make the choice to say Yes to Him. Praising God even when circumstances are not ideal can be one of the most powerful forms of praise, because it illustrates that we are not our feelings, we are our choices.
We are able to thank and praise when we choose to focus on how big our God is and not on how big our problems are.
We are able to thank and praise when we choose to focus on how good God is and not on how bad life may be.
We are able to thank and praise when we choose to focus on how faithful God is and not on how fickle people can be.
The truth of the matter is, what you focus on will magnify. Will you focus on your problems and magnify your doubts? Or will you focus on God and magnify your praise? Praise takes you from a state of barrenness into a state of overflow, from the valley to the mountaintop, from brokenness into wholeness.
Thanking and praising God comes easily when praise is not dependent on changing circumstances, but dependent on the God who is the Rock and never changing, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and who was, is, and will always be worthy of all praise.
Will you praise Him in the midnight hour? Will you praise Him even before your breakthrough? Will you praise Him when all seems bleak and your night is dark? The midnight hour is your opportunity to let out your best and most powerful praise, because this type of praise not only breaks your chains, but the chains of those connected to you!
Praise releases healing. Praise leads to breakthrough. Praise creates miracles.
While I was researching the word ‘praise,’ I found it so beautiful that the Middle English word for praise actually means to ‘set a price on, attach value to’ and the Old French word, preisier, means ‘to prize, praise,” from the late Latin pretiare and from Latin pretium ‘price.’
What is the price and the value of your praise? Do you view praise as a prize you not only receive but a prize you also give away? Praise is a prized possession that unlocks various treasures:
P: Postures the heart for worship.
R: Releases God's glory.
A: Anoints the atmosphere (and breaks down walls).
I: Inspires worship.
S: Sets the captives free (and breaks chains).
E: Encourages gratitude.
Let NOTHING or NO ONE stop your P.R.A.I.S.E.! No person, no season, no disappointment, no battle, no heartbreak, no depression, no health scare, no addiction is stronger than God and what happens when you raise your praise to Him and for Him. Your praise not only has a suddenly effect, but it has the power to set others free too. When you praise, chains break, walls fall down, the atmosphere shifts, and your perspective changes!
Love & Blessings,
Elena Maranian
Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of our #RaiseYourPraise series on The Elena & Natalia Show as we expand on our acronym for P.R.A.I.S.E, present biblical characters who raise their praise despite their circumstances, and include a segment with our friends who share their thoughts on thankfulness.