Praise & Pray

We often forget that God's blessings and miracles typically have a purpose. We think it's all about Him doing what we asked for. However, in many, if not most, cases, the experiences we testify about serve a greater goal, and one of them is to get other people to praise Him.

It shouldn't be a surprise that God wants people to praise Him. This is precisely why satan got jealous and rebelled. The devil wanted the adoration God receives because of His greatness. Think about it, all of creation praises Him so much, a stone could replace us if we chose not to (Luke 19:40). The Bible tells us that all were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7). We therefore can't expect Him not to desire glory from those He created in His image to honor Himself.

And glorifying God was part of the miracle that happened when a lame man was healed in the name of Jesus within the Temple grounds (Acts 3). He was at the Beautiful Gate to beg people, and though he'd wanted money, he received something better - physical and spiritual healing.

But the blessings didn't stop with this man. The people of Jerusalem who'd seen his miracle rejoiced and gave praise to the Lord. They told others, and even the next day, people were still glorifying the Lord. It was so much that the leaders had to release the Apostles after holding them unjustly. Acts 4:21-22 - After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. /For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

This is one reason why God blesses people and does miracles - that we all will glorify Him. That we will rejoice with those who were favorably touched by Him and join them in praising. Keeping this in mind, please always take a moment (or two or more) to rejoice in the Lord when His hand reaches down to the earth to bring healing or some other form of miraculous transformation. Be it in your life or someone else's.

He did what He did to get our attention. To remind us that He hears prayers and can answer them. He wants us to remember that He will do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). So, give Him His due praise and silence the enemy, which wants you to overlook and ignore God. Be blessed by the Lord Almighty, IJN, Amen. And be sure to testify, so all may praise Him!

PS: Today, the prayer time will be much different than usual. Think of something God did for you. Be sure to testify about it below, then drop a prayer for somebody to experience your testimony. Get it? Say what God did for you and ask Him to do it for somebody else. This should be fun! God bless you!

Give your life to Christ with the Altar Call below and learn more about today's topic from the following previous P&P messages:

1. Appreciate Jesus

2. Why does God bless us?

3. Your Miracle Is On The Way

4. Needs vs. Wants

5. Return & Publicly Testify

6. The Power of Testimony

7. My Water Baptism Testimony

8. God's Witnesses

9. Keep The Testimony Quiet Until

10. How To React To Testimonies

11. Topic: Praise

12. Topic: Testimony, Testify, Be God's Witness

13. Topic: Thanks