Stop Begging and Start Praising!

When Jen was emerging from a coma after her brain injury, the only time her voice sounded clear and uninjured was when she was praying. She would talk to God for hours but didn’t ask for one thing. All she did was PRAISE Him! She would say over and over, “Lord you are so good. You are so faithful. There aren’t words to describe You.” Jen would praise God for healing her and raising her up, even though she could not sit up or follow a verbal command. She was choosing to praise God in advance with childlike faith as if He had already answered. It was in those moments in the hospital that God was teaching me to stop begging and start praising. When we praise God, it puts our focus on who He is instead of our own circumstances.

One night when Jen was in extreme pain, our whole family was kneeling around her bed praying for God to heal her. Her dad was rubbing her feet for over an hour to calm her. Suddenly, Jen started praying out loud,“Lord, did I meet all Your expectations today? Did I fulfill everything You had for me to do today?” She was so broken and in so much pain, yet all she cared about was praising and serving God. My prayers were always, “Lord serve me. Help me.” I had never prayed a prayer like Jen’s before where I was asking God how I could serve Him.

It is such a privilege that we get to have direct communication with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you could see Jesus, what would you do? Would you kneel? Would you bow before Him? God is worthy of all our honor and glory and praise.

“When we praise God, we are putting our hope in Him. He is our EXPECTATION! When you put your hope in something, it is what you believe in. When we Praise God, it takes the weight off of our shoulders. It reminds us of WHO He is... the Great I AM! Praise shows a grateful heart. If we don’t praise Him even the rocks will cry out. We were made to praise Him. He deserves our praise. He conquered death for us. He gave us a second chance.”

Stop begging and start PRAISING! I challenge you to try it! You will be forever changed!