Enjoying the wonders of praise

Psalm 67:5-7, “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. [6] Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. [7] God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.” We have always thought that our praise is […]

Psalm 67:5-7, “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. [6] Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. [7] God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

We have always thought that our praise is the catalyst for releasing abundant harvest from heaven on our behalf! We held the opinion that our praise is the supernatural water and fertilizer your seed needs to produce abundant harvest for you! We have always thought that because you praise God the earth is going to surrender its abundance to you.

That’s all true but that has not always been the case. Many have praised God and nothing happened thereafter. No, praise alone is not the point here.

And we think that God responds to our praise when we dance and praise Him whenever we come to give because God loves a cheerful giver. Yes He does! But just the fact that we danced when we brought our offering has never always yielded the desired results as promised.

So what is the problem? There must be something we are missing. So what’s the point here? What is God trying to teach us here that He has also been trying to teach us in other Scriptures?

The real point

I want us to look at this Scripture closely. Psalm 67:5-6, “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. [6] Then shall…” The secret is the word ‘then’ which outlines the consequence of the action. But if you look more closely, you will discover that it’s not so much of the action but of the sequence, the timing! The order! It is the sequence that triggers the consequence. It is not so much about the praise but about the priority! It is not so much about how you give praise but about when you offer it! This is about a principle; the principle of putting God first!

Why is midnight praise so powerful? Why is midnight prayer so powerful? Because it is the first minutes or hours of the new day you are giving to God by praising and seeking Him first. So then, it is not about the praise alone, it is about your priorities. It is about developing the mentality of putting God first. The time you spend might be short but you have put God first. If you cannot do it at midnight because you go to bed early, do it first thing whenever you wake up!

This is also the reason tithing and first fruits are so important! It is not so much about what you give but what you put first! It is about what you trust or who you trust! It is about recognising Him as your source. A rich young man died because he edited God out of his budget after a bumper harvest. If you trust God you will put Him first in your spending. God is looking for people who can trust Him so that He can entrust them with His abundance. God is saying if I cannot trust you to put me first when your income is little, I will not entrust you with much. It is about your mind-set! He will continue to give you more and more if you develop the mind-set of putting Him first and paying your tithe whether the balance is sufficient to meet your need or not. That my friend, is faith! That is the prosperity mind-set!

The prosperity mind-set is not about acquiring things for yourself but about putting God first and assisting others. If your wealth is not touching the lives of others, even people you don’t know or people you are not expecting anything from, you still have a poverty mind-set. You are still a greedy person. You don’t give just to get back, you give because you want to alleviate the suffering of people you are better than. You give because of the nature of God in you: the compassion of God. You give not necessarily because you have too much but because you care, just like God. You give because you love people! These are the kind of givers God is looking for; not those who want to use God as a gaming machine. You give to God just so He can give you more because He promised to. That’s wrong! That means you do not understand the nature of God and why He blesses people.

You see when God called Abraham He did not only promise to bless him, most significantly, God told him he, Abraham will be a blessing. Abraham understood that he was called to be a channel through whom God will share His love and abundance with others. He knew he was not blessed to keep everything to himself. I believe you get the point. People will not accuse pastors or well to do church members the way they do if they see the way we help others with what God blesses us with. Of course very many pastors and blessed members are helping the poor in and outside of the church, just that they are not making it a media event or making noise about it. That’s exactly in keeping with scriptures. So the next time you criticise pastors, make sure you don’t generalise. Make sure you know what they are doing behind the scene.

Someone once said, “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.” Start thinking beyond yourself, starting asking, what problem can I help my neighbour solve? What can I do today to make someone’s life more comfortable? Always remember that you are blessed to be a blessing. Just assisting an orphan to pay the next school fees can go a long way.

We have allocated the first Sunday of every month unto God to praise Him. We are putting Him first. God will multiply you as you develop the mind-set of putting Him first. He will make the earth to surrender its abundance to you! He will bless you beyond your imagination! Your results will multiply, in Jesus name.

Avoid murmuring

The devil will rather have you murmuring and complaining but we are too wise to fall for his cheap tricks. He dreads the power generated by genuine praise to God especially when done with knowledge.

May your month be filled with harvest after harvest! May you be productive and fruitful all round! May your life produce uncommon results! As you worship and offer praise today, God will remember all His covenants with you and settle you in every area of life, in Jesus name!

This land will surrender its best to you.

As you put God first with your praise this month and every day of your life, He will make sure you have everything you need.

Let us arise and praise the One and only God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; our loving and gracious Father!

Have a safe and blessed week!

Bishop Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l.

Website: www.dayspringcmi.org

e-mail: [email protected]

Help line: 08035150515