PURSUING GOD’S GLORY (7)

“I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer” (Psalm 63:4 NLT).

Pursuit of God is a lifelong commitment to cultivate an increasingly intimate relationship with Him. Building a strong and deep relationship with any person is usually a tasking job that demands earnestness, exertion and endurance. The feebleminded cannot seek God. They would lack the patience and fortitude to study the ways of God and understand His operational models.  God does not work with our time frame but with His. He is neither slow nor fast in the ways we understand those terms, but is always on time and in time for what He plans to do. Seeking God demands unflinching dedication to the lifestyle of praise –a habit of praising God at all times, when situations are praise-worthy and when they are not. This is not the way human beings naturally respond to situations but it’s God’s chosen way.  

Praise attracts God and confers on humans the privilege of hosting His Presence.  David underscores this unique power of praise when he declared, “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3 NKJV). The Hebrew word interpreted “enthroned” means “to sit down, to dwell, to remain or to settle.” God does not just come when you praise Him; He comes to sit down with you and to settle as He enjoys the sweet aroma of your praise and worship.  Praising God draws Him to us and causes Him to remain with us affording us a unique opportunity to develop intimate relationship with Him. In a nutshell, praise occasions a habitation of God among His worshiping community.

The mystery of praise is demonstrated in the manifold ways God blessed Judah, the son of Jacob.  Judah means praise. “Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!...” (Genesis 29:35 NLT). Judah was the most favoured son of Jacob by divine election. Left to Jacob, Joseph would have gotten everything but God chose Judah.  Jacob prophesied over Judah with these words:

“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.  Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down; he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, or a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:8-10 NKJV)

The mantle for leadership was upon Judah. He was the one his brothers shall praise. Accordingly, the greatest kings of the ancient Israel were descendants of Judah.  David, a grandson of Judah was outstanding as a worshiper of God. He wrote the majority of the psalms and elevated the worship of God to a national status in Israel. Our Lord Jesus was a descendant of Judah, therefore the sceptre did not depart from him or the lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh (Jesus) came. Praise was perfected in Christ. Another descendant of Judah, Solomon had the awesome privilege of building for God a place of habitation (2 Chronicles 6:2), where praises were offered continually to Him.

God’s attraction to praise has not changed. Until today, He still communicates Himself to those who praise Him in every circumstance. God shows up anywhere He is praised.  When Jehoshaphat praised Him in the battlefield, He showed up and granted Him victory without a fight.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22 NKJV)

If you are hungry for the manifest Presence of God, praise will bring Him. He enjoys hanging out with people who praise Him. When you lift Him up in praise, He comes in glory to honour you and to bless you. Praise magnifies God and unleashes our faith to trust Him more. Praise emboldens us to pray more effectively. Praise draws His power to meet our need. Stay on your track in pursuit of God but remember that a lifestyle of praise will get you there faster than any other means.