A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of July 26-30, 2021
MONDAY
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.
Hebrews 13:15
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4
Praise is a spiritual force. It is a product of our voice and breathing. We are indwelt with the breath of God, and praise, or what we say to God that expresses His value to us, comes from our words. The bible tells us to let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6).
We are a spirit. Our breath is the force through which praise is given. God gave us breath through which we praise Him. There are many purposes for our praise. We contact God through our praise. The Bible says He inhabits the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3) His called out people. If we are separated unto God, then we must have a way to have fellowship with Him. Praise to God allows us to do this.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Proverbs 17:22 ~ A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
July 26: Judges 9, Acts 13, Jeremiah 22, Mark 8
July 27: Judges 10:1-11:11, Acts 14, Jeremiah 23, Mark 9
July 28: Judges 11:12-40, Acts 15, Jeremiah 24, Mark 10
July 29: Judges 12, Acts 16, Jeremiah 25, Mark 11
July 30: Judges 13, Acts 17, Jeremiah 26, Mark 12
July 31: Judges 14, Acts 18, Jeremiah 27, Mark 13
August 1: Judges 15, Acts 19, Jeremiah 28, Mark 14
TUESDAY
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.
Hebrews 13:15
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4
Praise is one of humanity’s many responses to God’s revelation of Himself. Praise comes from a Latin word meaning “value” or “price.” Thus, to give praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth. Praise can also be offered to persons or things other than God.
Who is worthy of our praise?
What makes a person or being worthy of praise?
What values do we esteem in persons?
We value intelligence, strength, poise, patience… the list goes on. There are as many characteristics of value as there are people. So what makes a person praiseworthy? It must have something to do with what they do with our praise. God dwells in our praise. When He sets up residence in our midst, and within us, we can expect only good, because God is good.
Can others inhabit our praise also?
WEDNESDAY
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.
Hebrews 13:15
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4
Can others inhabit our praise also?
The answer is “yes” because praise is also an offering. All offerings (Hebrews 13:15) must be received by someone. When we speak of spiritual offerings, they must be accepted or rejected by some spiritual force. When we praise God from our hearts, He comes in response to the offering that we have made. Our words become an offering and an invitation for Him to dwell with us.
If we praise and admire other persons, we invite them into our lives, also. Anyone we speak highly of hears the words and gives a response. We may notice this, that they seem to “warm up to us” or in other ways make themselves available. They, too, inhabit our words of praise. If the person does not warm up to us, the offering is rejected, so we feel this rejection. The spiritual force of rejection entered in and “received” or responded in its own way to the praise.
THURSDAY
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.
Hebrews 13:15
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4
Praise can be given to objects. God forbade Israel to make graven images (Exodus 20:4). What we behold, we often admire. Our eyes are the entrance to our souls, so what we enjoy, we will look at. Admiration is a form of praise. Attention is a form of praise. Looking at certain things longingly or with desire to obtain them is a form of praise.
It is okay to desire daily needs, conveniences, and the like, but how far are we allowed to go before it becomes praise?
When Israel melted down the gold that God had provided when they left Egypt and made a golden calf out of it, they worshipped the creature rather than the Creator.
This was an abomination to God because that praise could have been given to God and their lives would have benefited from it. Instead it was wasted on an image that could do nothing for them.
FRIDAY
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.
Hebrews 13:15
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:4
Often idols, or graven images, can be inhabited by spirits of worship. The Philistines worshipped Dagon and made an image of Him. When the ark of God was placed next to it, the image toppled. The spirits that inhabited the statue were unable to stand before a Holy God. Even though the image was re-erected, it toppled again.
Spirits can inhabit graven images, and actually speak to people when they are called upon. Just as God can speak to us out of the spirit of praise, enemy spirits can do the same thing. We only want to commune with God. If we keep our praise pure and according to His word, God and God alone will respond, and He brings only good, because He is good.
Let God inhabit all your praise.