FIVE LEVELS OF PRAYER Level 2 (Continued) - High Praises "Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD" (Psalm 149:5-6, 8-9). We can learn much from the psalms of David. In many of his psalms, David is asking God for victory over his enemies. This was literal flesh and blood enemies. We are a part of the kingdom of God, and have been commanded by Jesus to love our enemies (Luke 6:27). The enemies we fight are spiritual--Satan and his kingdom. When you pray the prayers of David, the same prayers that he used to pray against his natural enemies can be used by us to pray against our spiritual enemies. Read Acts 1:16 and Psalm 41:9. David prayed with a special anointing of the Holy Ghost. Many of his prayers were prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and His kingdom. In Psalm 149, David is telling us not only how to enter into the presence of God, but also how to defeat our spiritual enemies--with high praises, and the word of God. The highest form of worship is praising God for what He is! What if your wife, husband, or friend walked up to you and said, "I love you because of what I can get out of you." We would be tempted to reply, "Get lost!" We want to be loved for what we are, not just what we can do for others. In the same sense, thanksgiving is praising God for what he has done and is presently doing for us. High praises goes beyond this--it is praising God for what He is! One sure way to defeat the devil is to start offering high praises to Jesus. The word of God is compared to a two-edged sword by the Apostle Paul (Hebrews 4:12). We can even use this "two- edged sword" while offering high praises to the Lord, either as an example, or actually reading the verses of Scripture as praise to God. Let us look at some of David's "high praises" to the Lord: "I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high" (Psalm 7:17). "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1). "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marveous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High" (Psalm 9:1-2). "The LORD is King for ever and ever" (Psalm 10:16). "I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies" (Psalm 18:1-3). "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid" (Psalm 27:1). "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed" (Psalm 28:7-8). "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance" (Psalm 32:7). "Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalm 36:5-7). "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). "For the LORD most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth" (Psalm 47:2). "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness" (Psalm 48:1). "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth" (Psalm 57:5, 11). "Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy" (Psalm 59:17). "For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Psalm 61:3). "He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God" (Psalm 62:6-7). "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name" (Psalm 63:3-4). "Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen!" (Psalm 72:18-19). "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell" (Psalm 86:12-13). "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious,
longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psalm
86:15). For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation" (Psalm 89:8, 18, 26). "For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary" (Psalm 96:4-6). "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5). David was certainly the expert at worshipping the Lord, but we can also learn from other Biblical writers: "And one cried unto another, and said, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour, and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (I Timothy 1:17). "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 25). "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:8, 11). "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever" (Revelation 5:13). "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Revelation 19:6). Remember that the word of God is very powerful when we use it to offer high praises to the Lord. Remember that David's psalms were inspired by the Holy Ghost. It is good to learn many of these phrases and use them in your prayer time--and also in your worship at church. One way to learn these phrases is to use this lesson during your prayer time--reading these praise verses as personal worship from your heart to the Lord. You will discover that God will honor this, the same as if it came from your own mind, if you pray sincerely. In this way, many of these phrases will be added to your praise vocabulary!
Here a few examples how to use these titles and special relationships: "Oh, Jesus, you are my King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Rule and reign over every area of my heart and life. Help me to surrender myself completely to you, Lord." "You are my Light, Jesus. Without you I would be walking in darkness. I would have no hope or direction." "You are the Living Bread, and Fountain of Living Water, Jesus. Only you can satisfy my soul." "You are my Everlasting Father, Jesus, and I am your son. Thank you for the privilege to be your son. Help me to love you more and be submissive to you." As you can see by this lesson, your sweet hour of prayer could easily develop into sweet two hours of prayer, and your relationship with Jesus Christ will be greatly blessed by a greater portion of His presence in your life. You will begin to climb to a new spiritual level in your walk with God. God will be able to use you in a way that you never realized was possible! ds |
