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Back to Sermon Index Praise is the beginning of Prayer Philippians 4: 4-7 July 13, 2008 "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident for all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. The and peace of God which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Rejoice! Again I say Rejoice. The joyful expression of our praise to God. While it may not seem obvious, really praise is the first place to begin in prayer. We begin by expressing our adoration and praise for God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. How does praise help us when we pray? 1. Praise helps us remember who God is. It may seem obvious when we pray that we know or remember who God is, but in truth our circumstances often overshadow our vision of God. When we begin with adoration and praise, we are reminded of who God is...who are we coming to in prayer? What kind of God is this? I am reminded of the words of the prophet Isaiah in the famous Isaiah chapter 40...we know the ending of the chapter as it reminds us that everyone who waits or calls upon the Lord will gain new strength..they will rise up on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint. We even sing about it... "Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed out the mountains and the hills? 13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor? 14 Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good or what is best? 15 No, for all the nations of the world are nothing in comparison with him. They are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. He picks up the islands as though they had no weight at all. 16 All Lebanon's forests do not contain sufficient fuel to consume a sacrifice large enough to honor him. All Lebanon's sacrificial animals would not make an offering worthy of our God. 17 The nations of the world are as nothing to him. In his eyes they are less than nothing — mere emptiness and froth. 18 To whom, then, can we compare God? What image might we find to resemble him? 19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? 20 Or is a poor person's wooden idol better? Can God be compared to an idol that must be placed on a stand so it won't fall down? 21 Have you never heard or understood? Are you deaf to the words of God — the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 It is God who sits above the circle of the earth. The people below must seem to him like grasshoppers! He is the one who spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and their work withers. The wind carries them off like straw. 25 "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. 26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away. O Israel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? 28 Have you never heard or understood? Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. 30 Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. 31 But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. We praise God, remembering who God is. Seeing who God is builds our faith. That the God of the universe, who spreads the stars out like a picnic blanket at the beach and measures the oceans in the hollow of his hand...he love you! Yes, and he loves me...personally. Do you find that amazing and impossible...you are not the first. Psalm 8 records King David's amazement that a God so great and powerful would even consider who we are as human beings. Praise reminds us of who God is...and it gives our prayers power and renews our strength. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AGAIN I SAY, REJOICE! 2. We praise God and remember what God has done... This is another way for us to build faith and trust in God. Again and again in the Old Testament the reader/listener is reminded of God's great works. How God loved Abraham and Sarah. How God chose Moses and used him to deliver the people with signs and wonders and miracles and might acts! How God entered into covenant with us...and how he loves and forgives us. When we remember what God has done for us in the past...both personally and collectively, it restores our faith and allows us to trust God into the uncertain and often scary future. As Moses stood with the people at the Jordan river, he tells them again and again what God had done for them...and what God will do for them as they enter the land and possess it. Perhaps the clearest of this principle of faith building comes from David the shepherd boy. When we challenged Goliath, then King Saul questioned him, saying in a not so kind tone...you are just a boy! A mere lad...your so short the sword drags when you walk! How do you expect to handle this giant? David's response...when I was a shepherd tending my father's sheep, the sheep were attacked by a bear and by a lion...and each time I trusted in God to deliver me and he did. If God can deliver me from the paw of the lion and the jaws of the bear, he can deliver me from this sinful pagan. Remembering Past acts of God helps us build our faith for today! REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AGAIN I SAY, REJOICE!! 3. Praise changes our perspective as we pray. Praise helps us remember who God is, and what God has done...which gives us confidence and courage as we pray. But praise also helps us change our perspective when we pray. It is easy to get so caught up in the troubles at hand, that we fail to see the big picture. We begin to focus so much on these things, and sometimes, believe me, they are real things and they can be pretty awful. When we pray, we don't minimize the troubles we are in or face. You don't see king David do that in the Psalms, which are prayers and songs recorded for us. No. David lays things out there for God...here is where I am, what I am facing, how I feel about it and what I want from you God. Sometimes the prayers are for God to punish his enemies! But prayer beings in praise, and as we praise God we are reminded that all is not bad. When we focus on the troubles alone, it gets easy to let them be all we see and then our world begins to narrow down to only these things. When we praise God, it requires that we lift up our heads and see the glory of God all around us. It reminds me of the time when I was in college that I backpacked from Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon with a geology class. It was a very hot summer day, with temperatures in the canyon floor exceeding 110. I was hot, tired and my feet hurt. After awhile, I began to concentrate only on my hiking, my seemingly endless climb...one step after another. But a fellow hiker stopped me...hey, look around you. Take a moment at each turn to see the changing panorama of the canyon. And there is was in sunlit glory. Here was God's glory spread across the ages recorded for us. And as clouds passed over, the sun and shadows shifted revealing different aspects of the canyon, colors, and glory. At each turn of the endless switch back, I stopped and looked upon the wonder. And before I knew it, I was at the top. When we focus only on our troubles when we pray, we overlook some pretty wonderful things God is still doing around us. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AGAIN I SAY, REJOICE! 4. When we begin our prayer with praise, we also are able to count our blessings. Even in the worst moments, there is always the hand of God working....and we can see blessings. These blessings do not always outweigh the problem or suffering at hand. But we are able to see that despite our problems, our lives are really a balance of good and bad, hard and easy...and that even in the worst of times, there are good things to be seen and concentrated on. Sometimes the worst experiences help us grow and help us see the blessings of God around us. The bible says that "God works together for Good in all things for those who love God and are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8). Sometimes, we have to pause to see the blessings in the trials...how God is working for good. I want to make clear that the passage does not say all things are good in God...no, somethings are hard and difficult and not good...sometimes even evil that we must endure and seek to overcome. And we must be clear that bad things happen to good people. The bible warns us of tribulation and hardships, and reminds us that God uses these hard things to help us grow in our trust, in our love for God and others, these things produce endurance, and endurance produces faith, hope...and hope does not disappoint. I would not go so far as Lance Armstrong, who is the founder of the Live Strong Bike race out front today, when he said that getting cancer was a gift...a good gift. I agree with him that it causes us to re-evaluate our lives, our priorities, etc. and it calls us to make changes that can be good, but cancer is not good and it is not a gift. But spending some time in praise when we pray allows us to see the blessings around us even in the worst of times. In these times, we see the love of family and friends, the prayerful care of the family of faith surrounding a person with love and care. We can see the blessings of God and know that our life is not ALL bad, regardless of how bad things get. I remember going through a very difficult time a few years ago...I had had a medical procedure that resulted in a spinal leak. If you have not experienced a spinal leak, well, it is something to be avoided at all possible costs! During that very difficult time, when I could only focus on getting through the next five minutes...I began to look for something joyful to concentrate on instead of all the pain and suffering. And if found joy in the midst of the suffering. And after they had fixed me, the first Sunday I can back I was overwhelmed by the love and concern of folks at church. Their love and encouragement and prayers and support of Susan and I have been a wonderful blessings to us and our girls. I was moved to tears that Sunday back, recalling the blessing of God in the midst of hardship. Praise reminds us of the blessings in our lives, even in the midst of hardship. The passage acknowledges this...saying that if there is any good thing...anything of value, or worth in the midst of your trial, think about these things, not the bad things. It says: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything excellent or praiseworthy — think about these things. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9) If there is anything of value...focus your mind on these things as you pray. Praise is the foundation of prayer. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!! PRAISE IS THE BEGINNING OF PRAYER...IN JOYFUL PRAISE AND GRADITUDE, WITH THANKSGIVING, WE LIFT OUR PRAYERS TO THE LORD. Psalm 100.... REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS, AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!! Back to Sermon Index |