Praising God in Advance
When we are faced with a huge obstacle or enemy, we all have the choice to go to God or to try to face it on our own. When we go to the Lord, and He tells us He will take care of our problem, we have another choice. We can believe Him and order our life to live based on His promise to intervene, or to go on in fear, wondering whether He will act or not. Jehoshaphat had such a dilemma. The Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites joined forces to attack Judah. He prayed to God, and God sent His prophet to say that Judah would win the victory over this huge army without lifting a hand. Jehoshaphat chose to appoint a choir to go before the troops, singing praises to God, as his way of living life based on God's promise. He praised God in advance of God's work, because He so believed God. (II Chronicles 20:21) Now, that was an act of faith! I wonder how many of us are living like this now?
God commands us to pray about everything, but not to worry about anything. (Philippians 4:6,7) Then, we should trust Him to hear our prayer and to give us peace. We should listen to Him, like Jehoshaphat did when the prophet spoke. When God answers we should take Him at His word, and follow through on what He told us to do. Then, we will see God act. Once we receive God's answer and instructions, what better way to show God and everyone else that we are believing what God told us than to start praising Him in advance? I believe that is the ultimate faith in what God has said. It shows Him that our heart is set on Him, not on our self. It speaks volumes to other people around us, too, when they see the peace God has given us. Please, understand what the Bible is saying. We are not manipulating God by praising in advance. We must always want God's will, not our own will. What the Bible is saying is that when God speaks, we should take Him at His Word and rejoice in what He is going to do. That is how we show our trust in Him.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 22-24.
God commands us to pray about everything, but not to worry about anything. (Philippians 4:6,7) Then, we should trust Him to hear our prayer and to give us peace. We should listen to Him, like Jehoshaphat did when the prophet spoke. When God answers we should take Him at His word, and follow through on what He told us to do. Then, we will see God act. Once we receive God's answer and instructions, what better way to show God and everyone else that we are believing what God told us than to start praising Him in advance? I believe that is the ultimate faith in what God has said. It shows Him that our heart is set on Him, not on our self. It speaks volumes to other people around us, too, when they see the peace God has given us. Please, understand what the Bible is saying. We are not manipulating God by praising in advance. We must always want God's will, not our own will. What the Bible is saying is that when God speaks, we should take Him at His Word and rejoice in what He is going to do. That is how we show our trust in Him.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 22-24.