Recently, while listening to a church worship team sing one of my favourite praise songs, they stopped after a segment, and the leader started praising the Lord. As I listened, my spirit soared as the man declared Jesus is:

• The firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)
• The reflection of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3)
• The fullness of the deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:9)
• The Name above all names (Philippians 2:9)
• The creator of all things (Colossians 1:16)
• The One who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17) by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3)

        What is praise? Simply put, praise is giving God the recognition He deserves. It is exalting Him and His Name. Why is praise important in the life of a believer? The following are some of the benefits of praise.

        Praise gives us access to God.
     “Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name” (Psalm 100:4 NLV). The Message translation puts it this way: “Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him” (Psalm 100:4 MSG).

        Praise brings the presence of God.
     "…for you are holy. The praises of our fathers surrounded your throne; they trusted you and you delivered them” (Psalm 22:3).

       Praise chases away despair.
     “He has sent me to provide for all those who grieve in Zion, to give them crowns instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of tears of grief, and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness” (Isaiah 61:3, NOG).

        Praise gives God a gift and an offering.
      "So we no longer offer up a steady stream of blood sacrifices, but through Jesus, we will offer up to God a steady stream of praise sacrifices—these are “the lambs” we offer from our lips that celebrate his name!” (Hebrews 13:15 TPT).

        Praise provides protection.“
        "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy" (Psalm 5:11, NLT).

        Praise is a weapon against Satan.
      Satan hates praise. As Lucifer, before sin was found in him and he became Satan, He was God’s praise leader (see Isaiah 14). Praise reminds him of what he gave up because of his rebellion and can never regain.

        Praise brings deliverance and victory.
      “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated” (2 Chronicles 20:21-22 NIV).

        Surrounded by a vast enemy army, King Jehoshaphat did not send out warriors first, but men to praise, and God gave them a mighty victory.
 
      “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (Acts 16:25-26 NIV).

      The praise of Paul and Silas, chained in that prison brought on the “suddenly” of God’s deliverance.

       In closing, my prayer is this: “Lord, when Satan has us between a rock and a hard place, help us to remember to praise You, because You are worthy. Praise Your Name forever!”

            Approximately thirty-five hundred years ago, God was arranging to rescue His people from Egyptian slavery. Exodus chapter 12 gives the account of the last plague inflicted on the Egyptians - the death of the firstborn son of every Egyptian family, including Pharaoh, as well as of the animals. “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord” (Exodus 12:12 NIV). After this occurred, Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave the country.
           
        Afraid they would all die, the Egyptians urged the children of Israel to leave quickly. Moses instructed the people to ask them for articles of silver, gold, and clothing. “The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36 NIV).
           

       In the above narrative, a divine transfer took place. Proverbs 13:22 CJB says, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous." The wealth of the Egyptians was transferred to the Israelites. It was wealth earned on the backs of Israelite slaves and God was giving it back to His people. The wealth provided provision for their journey, as well as the materials to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
           
        There are other examples in the Bible of divine transfer. In the book of Nehemiah, we learn Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king (Artaxerxes 1 of Persia), living in exile. People arrived from Judah and told him the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s home city, was broken down and its gates burned.
           
       Nehemiah mourned over what he heard and wanted to go back and rebuild the walls. But it seemed impossible. He didn’t have the funds, materials, or expertise. However, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). God used a pagan king to provide Nehemiah with what he needed. The king allowed him to return home and wrote letters guaranteeing him safe passage and requesting the people of the land to provide the required materials. It should have taken Nehemiah years to rebuild the walls, but he did it in fifty-two days! I call that divine transfer – transfer of funds, favour, materials, and influence.
           
       Then there’s the example of Ruth. In the book of her name, we read how she and her mother-in-law, Naomi, returned from Moab to Bethlehem in the land of Judah, widowed and poverty-stricken. Things looked pretty dismal. Naomi even told everyone not to call her by her given name, which means pleasantness, but by Mara, which means bitter.

          But our God is the God of the impossible (Matthew 19:26).  God provided a kinsman-redeemer in the person of Boaz, who not only provided for Ruth and Naomi, but married Ruth, and put her in the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah.

        And when the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, God gave them “…cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant…” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11 NIV). Another example of divine transfer.

          Why have I given you these examples? Because I want to encourage you. To remind you we serve a God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places (Isaiah 45:3). There is nothing we require He cannot get to us. He’s promised to provide everything we need (Philippians 4:19). My prayer for 2023 is that we learn to trust Him for EVERYTHING.