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Prayer a Form of Praise

Prayer a Form of Praise

Prayer is a form of praise that develops from a deep understanding of God’s Word.

The Holman Bible Dictionary states that the modes of praise are many. However, it includes seven modes of praise to God.

The 7 practices for praise to God are as follows:

1. Offering a Sacrifice:

In ancient times the priest would offer a lamb (Ex. 29:38). But today Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins (Jn. 1:29). We offer ourselves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God which is our spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1).

2. Physical Movement:

The Israelites were expressive in praise to God. They would stand, bow, prostrate themselves, dance, clap, kneel, and lift their hands (Nehemiah 8:5-6). David danced before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:14) and told us to clap our hands in praise (Ps.47:1). You can apply these praise movements based on the congregation that you serve. Not everyone has to respond in the same exact way for our praise movements to be acceptable. Any physical movement within these prescribed parameters is all God requires from us for proper praise.

3. Silence & Meditation:

Since our world is filled with fast-paced hustle and bustle, we must build in times of silence in our worship and our world. The word Selah is most frequently used in the Book of Psalm and three times in Habakkuk. Selah is a musical notation that means to pause and think calmly on what has just been expressed.

4. Testimony:

Our salvation stories should be used as a means to extol God’s goodness, express our faith, build community and promote compassion for others (Ps. 105:1-2).

5. Prayer:

Prayer provides us with constant communication with God. David says, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense” (Ps. 141:2; Rev. 5:8). Prayer is a conduit to the halls of heaven and a pathway into God’s presence.

6. A Holy Life:

God continues to admonish us to be holy. Why? Because He is holy (Lev. 19:2; 1 Thes. 4:7). Praise allows us to reflect the character of our Creator. The apostle Peter states, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood a Holy Nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

7. Music:

Music is the sublime language God created to perpetuate His praise.

Music both vocal and instrumental pleases God. Music has God-ordained prophetic power. In 1 Chronicles 23:5, David says that the Levites should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals.

In Conclusion…

In order for these forms of praise to penetrate our hearts, we need to study our Bibles. When we anchor our lives to God’s Word our songs become prayers and our prayers become our songs. Through a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, we make melodies with our lives that are acceptable sacrifices to God (Ps. 40:3). Author Ron Owens in his book Return to Worship; A God Centered Approach writes, “Fundamental to offering God acceptable worship is having a correct view of who He is. If our view of God is anything other than His Self-revelation through His Word, then the god we worship is one of our own making, one fashioned to suit what we want God to be.”1

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