Praise Builds a Bridge

Psalm 22:1-3
[1] To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? [2] O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. [3] But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Notice that the writer begins the verse in a terrible dilemma. He obviously feels God forsaken. The Psalmist feels like God is not there. The Psalmist feels like God is ignoring his prayers. He is definitely facing a dilemma!

But, what a turn around in attitude in verse 3. Note that after putting his petitions to God, the psalmist shift gears and shifts into praise.

I don’t know about you, but very often my first response is self-pity and I know that most of us tend to have that same response. So, the idea of shifting into praise in the midst of our dilemma is a significant paradigm shift for us.

So what is the scripture telling us? I believe the Psalmist is telling us that the best thing to do when you are facing a dilemma is to praise God. It is our praise that creates a door for Gods presence to come into our problem.

The Psalmist shows us that when you are in a dilemma, shift the focus off the dilemma and get to praising God.

We see this principle in the “Lord’s prayer”.

Matthew 6:9-13
[9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

In the model prayer…”our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”….this is the “praise phrase”. Then, it says “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

I believe we are seeing the creation of a bridge here! Notice the connect. Praise creates a bridge…in comes the kingdom of God. God comes into our dilemma!

Acts 16:25-26
[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.

This Bible story begins the unjust arrest of Paul and Silas. The local Philippian authorities beat them and then threw them into a jail cell. Besides the trauma of the severe beating, they were fastened in stocks which clamped their arms and legs in an immobile position…can you imagine what it would have been like. Nothing like our jails today that meet human rights standards. The atmosphere there was depressing. According to the standards of that day, a prison was more like the resemblance of a dungeon. A dark, damp, stench-ridden place, with no facility for waste or comforts of any kind.

Yet, in spite of the throbbing pain in their bodies and the disheartening atmosphere, at midnight Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing praises to God! What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners, who were used to only hearing the groans or cursings of those who had been beaten. What a paradigm shift!
Then suddenly, there was an earthquake that shook the prison! The doors flung open, and amazingly, the bonds of Paul, Silas, and every other prisoner were released! What caused this mighty discharge of power? Praise!

PRAISE BUILDS A BRIDGE! God inhabits the praise of His people.

That’s my five minutes!

A few random thoughts!

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “A mind stretched by a new idea never returns to its original shape.”

• I wonder what would happen to Spirit-filled Christians if they really understood and believed these scriptures?
• John 4:4 - "Greater is he that in you, than he that is in the world"
• John 14:12 says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.”

Jesus redefined what is and what is not possible! He said, “All things are possible”. And because we sometimes need to hear the same thing in different ways, Jesus also said, “Nothing is impossible”.

Jesus had a pretty impressive resume of miracles! It’s easy to say, “but that’s Jesus. What does that have to do with me?” The answer is everything! As the scripture says above “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these".

My son is learning alot of things, it is amazing how fast kids develop. But, if i told you that Lachlan can do algebra and calculus, you wouldn't believe me (after all he's only 15 months). You would say, "that's impossible". It is not impossible! It may be impossible at his present stage of development, but give him a few years and he should be able to do it.

Just as a young child grows up and in time they can do those things that were impossible when they were new borns or toddlers. The same is in the spiritual realm, faith is the only difference between what is impossible and what is possible. It is a developmental issue. Impossibilities disappear as we develop our faith.

Soren Kierkegaard “If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never”.

Albert Einstein said, “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of eighteen.”

With the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can do "greater works" than Jesus even did! That's what the Bible says!

That's my five minutes!