Praise God!
by Patricia Lake
Praise and worship belong to the Lord God Almighty, and Him alone!
Amidst much praise and worship and the joyful playing of many different instruments, David danced before the Lord, as the Ark of the Covenant was removed from the house of Obed Edom and taken to its resting place in the tent David had prepared in Jerusalem. The Ark represented the presence of God among the people, to guide, protect and give them victory, and was thus, the source of their joy.
While the majority of 1 Chronicles 16 is devoted to the offering of thanksgiving to God, with David placing the Levites in their rightful place of carrying the Ark of God, and leading the praise, the last verse of 1 Chronicles 15 shows us that there was one person who did not partake of this joyous occasion before the Lord.
Michal, Saul’s daughter despised David in her heart as he danced before the Lord. While she was more concerned about appearances and the king’s public image, David was more concerned about giving God his due. This begs the question. Are we more concerned about what other people think, or about pleasing God?
2 Samuel 6:12-23 gives a more expanded version of this incident, for we find that David was not discouraged by her reaction.
When we turn our attentions fully on the Lord and begin to give him the praise that is due to His holy name, the enemy of our souls will always react to try to rob God of what is rightfully His. But this should not deter us, it should spur us on – for there is victory in praise! King David and the people worshiped the Lord in the beauty of holiness and God gave him victory in battle and established his kingship.
The scriptures also speak of nature praising God, (Isaiah 55:12) and centuries later, Jesus himself declared that if His disciples don’t praise God, even the very stones will cry out and praise Him! Chapters 4 and 5 of The Book of Revelation explode into a crescendo of praise and adoration to Almighty God.
It is clear that this is a major key to breakthrough in many of our circumstances, for as we praise God, we access His mighty resources.
So today, let not your heart be troubled, praise the Lord with all that is within you, for God is well pleased with us when we do.
Patricia Lake is now Ellel’s Representative in Curacao, in the Dutch West Indies, where she is now living, having served with Ellel Ministries as Peter Horrobin’s Secretary for almost 20 years. Prior to that she was in ministry in her local Pentecostal church in Birmingham, before feeling the call of God to serve in the healing and deliverance ministry at Ellel Grange in the northwest of England.
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