O praise Him!
O praise Him!
He is Holy!
He is Holy

David Crowder Band

This morning I read the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:23-26. The Passion Translation titles these verses with ‘Miracles that Come Out of Painful Places.’

Miracles Can Come Out of Painful Places

After they were severely beaten, they were thrown into prison and the jailer was commanded to guard them securely. So the jailer placed them in the innermost cell of the prison and had their feet bound and chained. Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship. Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose.

My first thought as I read this was, that must have sounded awful. There were these two men in prison, who have been severely beaten. They were probably tired and in pain, hungry and cold. And here they were belting out songs. There was no lead guitarist setting the tune or lead vocals carrying the notes. Just Paul and Silas singing aloud. The revelation hit me. Praise is an attitude of the heart, not the lyrics we sing at church on a Sunday morning. These praises came from hearts that knew how to worship God. And God is delighted when we choose to praise Him despite our circumstances.

We need to begin to praise God while we are still trusting Him to come through for us. This scripture teaches us to praise Him despite the place we find ourselves in and rather, to begin to praise Him for what we are trusting Him for. We can trust Him for the miracle before we see it. We need to view our circumstances through the lens of worship. We need to learn to praise Him before the breakthrough, for the breakthrough.

Gods breakthrough is His promise and I’ve learned to praise Him because of the promise.

A depleted spirit rests in a heart of despair. But when we view our situation through the lens of worship, we begin to let our praying hearts lift our spirits into a place of praise and promise. I know the promise is coming. It’s how I choose to handle myself in the period of waiting that will determine my response.

The Bible encourages us not to worry. When we worry, we do not trust. To worry is not a state of mind or state of being. To worry is a choice. A choice not to trust. A choice not to worship. We need to teach ourselves, to worship instead of worry about the future.

In a place of defeat, Paul and Silas chose to praise God and He delivered them from their circumstances. Praise moves Gods heart. Our praises please Him. As we clothe ourselves with praise and approach life with an attitude of worship unto the Father, we please Him. And then we begin to see the miracles, our story unfolds and the miracles happen in the midst of the trial. Our miracles bear witness to others. They show off a great God. Worship edifies God and lifts Him up to His rightful place in our hearts. Let’s witness to others out of a place of worshipping hearts. Let’s begin to view our lives through the lens of worship.

To the faithful you show yourself faithful.

Psalm 18:25 NLT

Let’s be caught red-handed with faithful hearts, trusting in a faithful God!