Praise must become a lifestyle of communication with God. The atmosphere of your life should not determine your praise because every atmosphere is a perfect time to praise God. When things are going great we must praise Him. When things are hitting our lives from every angle we must praise Him. We must praise Him in the midst of peace and praise Him in the middle of spiritual warfare. There is never a time that it is not a good time to give God praise! Praise is a constant dependable spiritual weapon that brings a supernatural shift to any atmosphere. Take a moment and meditate on some of these verses about praise.
Psalm 63:4 says, “Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”
Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, [a]giving thanks to His name.”
Exodus 15:2 says, “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
1. THE MEANING AND IMPACT OF PRAISE
There are at least 7 Hebrew words for praise and each of them is powerful. Praise means to declare the excellence of someone or something. We must declare the excellence of God in the earth. One of the Hebrew words for praise in the Bible is “Yadah” which means to “stretch out the hand.” It also means to hold out your hands in reverence and to open your hands and let go of everything. Praise is so powerful because it is about letting go of things and inviting God to have His way in your life.
The Hebraic word “Yadah” for praise carries the meaning of absolute surrender. It also carries the meaning of a child asking their parents to pick them up. Praise is putting your whole life in the hands of God that is bigger than your circumstance knowing that He will provide all of your needs. Every blood-bought believer in Jesus Christ is a child who needs to be spiritually picked up by Father God. You must shift the atmosphere with praise.
2. RELEASING A SONG OF PRAISE
We must understand that we can praise God by letting go with open hands and full surrender to God before there is ever a symbol, stringed instrument, drum beat, flute, or harp. We must enter into His presence as children declaring the excellence of God no matter what the atmosphere looks like. From that place, we can introduce the song of praise!
Another Hebrew word for praise is “Tehillah” which means to sing, to praise with a spontaneous new song. Singing from a melody in your heart by adding words to it. This is a type of praise that refers to a special kind of singing where you can sing to God unprepared because it is an unrehearsed song.
Another Hebrew word for praise is “Zamar” which means to sing or praise God with instruments. To make music accompanied by the voice. It carries the idea of making music in praise to God like Psalm 92:1-4 says, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.”
The Hebrew word “Zamar” carries the idea of striking with the fingers which means to touch the strings or parts of musical instruments. The sound of praise through music will surely shift the atmosphere of your life.
Psalm 150:1-6 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the [c]trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
3. SONG OF PRAISE: A WEAPON TO SHIFT ATMOSPHERE
There are other Hebrew words for praise. However, you must realize that you have the power to shift any atmosphere with praise. The origin of music is God! I know the enemy has perverted the sound of music but the song and sound of praise impacts the human body. Allow me to give you some facts about music and the human body according to science! Be sure to listen to the video or audio podcast connected to this article as I define each of these in detail. Science says music has at least 5 effects on the human body. Can you imagine what would happen in your life if praise was the atmosphere bringing these five effects?
