What is the Sacrifice of Praise?
Complain and remain. Praise and be raised. (Joyce Meyer)
Just like heating the air will raise a balloon, praise raises us up out of our personal darkness,
Dark Days
Sitting by my brother’s hospital bed, as he lay dying from a suicide attempt was very hard. Guilt, fear, anger, despair and panic flooded my heart whenever I was awake. Chris had been a life-long atheist. Now his time on earth was ending, and he didn’t know Jesus as his Savior. I was praying up a storm and so were the Christians who loved me.
But I couldn’t seem to break through and grab hold of God by faith. Not until the 4th day. Before that, the emotional uproar in my brain was just too strong.
The doctors had put Chris in a drug-induced coma because of the severity of his injuries. No witnessing was possible now, but I knew the Holy Spirit could minister life to his spirit. The Lord could save my brother, even though he was unconscious.
While there was life, there was hope, but time was running out.
The Sacrifice of Praise
On the 4th day, A Christian friend on the other end of the phone asked me if I’d been praising God in my brother’s hospital room. The answer was no. I knew praising God was a powerful spiritual weapon. but in the midst of my pain and worry, I’d forgotten.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15 NIV)
What is the sacrifice of praise? It’s worshipping God when you really don’t feel like it. At that point, I’d been a Christian for decades, but I could only remember the words to 4 praise songs. So I sang them repeatedly. In between, I walked back and forth in front of my brother’s hospital bed, declaring the truth of God’s glory and His goodness.
The more I magnified my God, the more free I became. I kept praising God until joy started bubbling up from my soul. My heart filled with renewed faith. Later that night I surrendered my brother into God’s hands.
And I have an inner conviction when I enter Heaven I’ll see my brother there waiting to greet me.
My Spiritual Point:
The sacrifice of praise, when done long enough, will swamp despair, snuff out fear and quench anger and self-pity. If you’re in deep emotional pain, start praising God and don’t stop until there’s an emotional break-through.
This image came from Pixabay.com
Resources:
There’s a whole lot more to our story. Here’s a link to two posts in the Pit Dweller series:
