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PROGRAM D-7584
Why should we praise God? There is great power in praise, and when we become intentional about praising God throughout our days, we will discover how powerful it is in our lives.
Praise brings healing.
For example, emotional, mental and physical healing are often wonderful results of praising God.
Did you realize that over half of the available hospital beds are occupied by victims of mental and nervous disorders? I believe with all my heart that a massive program of personal and corporate praise could heal many of the inner struggles that Christians are facing.
Many times people remain crippled emotionally and mentally because they are overly occupied with themselves. And when anyone becomes ego-centered, it starts to disintegrate their personality. From extreme self-centeredness comes hostility, poor self-image, lack of confidence—you name it.
When you begin to praise the Lord, you are no longer self-focused. When praise becomes a way of life, then God becomes the center of that life instead of self. Praise produces forgetfulness of self and forgetfulness of self produces good mental and emotional stability.
During a Christmas holiday season a friend stopped me in church and said, “Mary, tell me what to do. I’ve just been in the dumps lately, thinking about being single, wishing I were married, wishing I had someone to be with during the holidays, feeling sorry for myself. I know you understand my feelings. But what do I do?”
Knowing this friend very well, I simply said to her, “Linda, start praising God.” That’s all I needed to say to her; she knew the principle but had just forgotten to practice it. “Of course,” she said, “that’s the answer.” She recalled how a few years ago she had come out of a real depression by praising God.
The next Sunday she reported to me that it worked immediately. She said, “I went home and started praising God for all his goodness to me and in short order, my spirits were lifted, the self-pity was gone, and I was able to truly be thankful for who I am and what I have.”
It works—praising God. It really works. Maybe you know the principle, too, but you just haven’t practiced it lately. Believe me, this is not something we learn once and for all. Remembering to praise God all the time in everything is a daily lesson.