KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:2 “And they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”.

From our opening scripture, the brethren ministered to the Lord and fasted. This means they praised and worshipped the Lord. This was not a ten-minute or thirty minutes business, they spent a great moment praising and worshipping the Lord.

I believe they might have had needs but they put aside every need and did not make request but kept praising the Lord.

 Praise is not just singing in a fast mode and worship is not just singing in a slower music pace. Praise is the outflow of the heart exalting God for who He is (Hebrews 13:15). It is a focus on Him not on the excitement of the song.

Worshipping is a surrendering of your being in appreciation of whom GOD is, (Psalm 95:6), expressing it in words.

The psalmist said, let us worship and bow down. Bowing is an act of surrender. Worshipping God means making God first, yielding your will to His will. It is a deep-hearted giving of your whole being to God*In simple words, worship is falling in love with the Lord. (Deut 6:5)

God always responds to such true praise and worship. In the case of the brethren in Acts 13, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate unto me Paul and Barnabas”.

In Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. The Lord responded by shaking the foundation of the prison and subsequently breaking the chains that held them.

Many people through praising and worshipping the Lord have seen the power of God breaking forth on them to dismantle every yoke of the devil. Give time to praising and worshipping the Lord.

    CONFESSIONS

With my whole heart I praise the Lord and worship Him. I exalt Him above all things. Indeed, the Lord is worthy of my praise and worship. As I praise and worship Him miracles are wrought all around me!

THOUGHT: GOD RESPONSE TO TRUE PRAISE AND WORSHIP

FURTHER STUDIES:

2 Chronicles 20:22 ” And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Se’ir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten”.

Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.