Praise
Praise is prayer par excellence—a total celebration of love.
Celebration
"Praise" comes from the Latin "prize," as in party. Though it's natural to pray in silence, it's not to celebrate in silence. Praise is more like being at a football game than playing chess. (For proof, see the Psalms, literally in Hebrew the book of "Praises".)
The outside and inside reinforce each other, which is one reason why charismatics encourage external "full contact" worship: clapping, singing, face flat, hands raised, dancing, etc. Without expressive, genuine celebration, we're not giving the fuller self, and missing God's fuller self.
That is, praise is the highest because it's not just:
- the mind, but the mind & body;
- serious, but serious & joyful;
- head, but the head & heart;.
- one-way, but two-way! — (God responds!)
A Few Reasons to Praise God
- Love. Celebrating God is most beautiful and reverent response to the privilege of being united with God. This should be enough, if for no other reason. It doesn't have to be trendy, but real to you and God.
- Christ Celebrates. Jesus is a praiser. He's an out loud celebrator of the Father. God is serious about the Heavenly party.
- Angels. They illustrate: bathed in awe, totally submitted. Once my friend saw a vision of rows of angels bowing and periodically one would peel off like an F-18, going to the world to serve, full up with God.
- The Real Self. Amazingly, with every choice, we actively cooperate in our own self-creation(!), becoming more the person we'll be in Heaven—the real future self, which praise accelerates.
- Warfare. It's a powerful weapon against oppression. Tradition has it that Satan actually used to be Heaven's worship leader and is especially disabled by our praise. See Praise Power
- More Gifts. The purpose of the gift of tongues is to help activate vocal praise—God praising for you—which in turn helps release other, more powerful gifts, such as prophecy, visions and healing. Don't miss this power. See Charismatic Gifts
Witness from the Spirit
I ask of you your whole spirit, soul, and body, yet so often I get what's in your mind. Do you think too much about your prayer? I'm looking for your heart more than your head. At times, your thinking can be an enemy to the spirit that I have ingrained in you. Though I have created all of you, it is the harmonic balance of all I made you to be that brings out each area to its greatest fulfillment.
Unlike exercising a muscle repeatedly where it gets stronger with extended use, exertion of your mind in prayer will concentrate too much power to your known faculties and may cause less reliance on what your spirit is saying. Lead in with your spirit. Experience the wisdom of praise.
I can reach your depths when you enter in to My presence in holy surrender. Your depths of your spirit know far more in time of praise than hours of pondering and questioning. Your most profound insight is most often the product, or byproduct, of the deepest times of prayer. Once your mind grasps what the spirit is telling it, now you have true direction. It never works in reverse—mind first speaking to spirit. The mind is too finite to probe the deeper things of God. So, again, I say, lead in with your spirit and connect with My Holy Spirit. I will show you truth.