An 18th century English clergyman by the name of William Law once wrote:"If anyone could tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing . . . "Praise God! We hear it over and over again in the Charismatic Renewal, and while as Catholics we're very familiar with the term "praise" I know, at least in my experience, praise was limited to the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, to the Gloria at Mass and the Glory Be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which we say in the Rosary. In fact, to be perfectly honest, when I first came into the movement and heard all this talk about praising God, I asked the question . . . Why? Why does God - who is so great and so powerful, so all-knowing and wise, so self-sufficient - need my praise?Well, I eventually learned that I was not alone in asking this question. In fact, a famous Catholic evangelist, Babsie Bleasdell, of Trinidad, in her booklet, "Growing in Praise," which I am using as part of my reference material in this talk, had a similar experience, and she said that as far as she could see when she first came into the Charismatic Renewal, praise on the natural level was hard to distinguish from flattery. "And, flattery," she felt, "was what most people used when they wanted something." In fact, she went so far as to ask: "What kind of God is this who always wants to be told how lovely He is, how beautiful He is, how powerful He is? Is God," she asked, "a neurotic?"
Like Babsie, I began to realize that - clearly - praising God was something that I needed to learn a little more about since it was obviously going to be a big part of my new prayer life. And one of the first things the Holy Spirit taught me was that God doesn't need my praises. I need to sing God's praises. Why? To keep everything in the right perspective . . . to maintain in my mind's eye the right balance of power, you might say.
So I turned to the Scriptures, and discovered that the more I searched, the more I learned not only why we should praise God, but how we can - and should - try to grow in our praise of Him. I learned that we praise him not only for what He has done for us, but more importantly for who He is . . . He is God, the Great I Am, Infinite, Unrivaled, All in All, and totally above and beyond anything we poor, simple creatures, could even begin to imagine let alone explain. So, you might say, Scripture, in the most loving way possible, simply put me and my ego in my place . . . or paraphrasing a conference speaker I heard once say: "Praise takes me off the throne and puts God back up there where He belongs."
The gist of his talk was that to many of us the responsibilities of life oftentimes leave us feeling that we are the king of all we survey . . . our homes, our jobs, our families, our civic responsibilities. And the weight we carry is often overwhelming. In fact, it's where the expression "Excedrin Headaches" came from. Well, this speaker urged us to take off the crown and sit back and watch as we find ourselves losing those Excedrin Headaches. God wears the crown a lot better than we do. So we need to get down off the throne, and with praise start putting God back in charge of our lives.
But Scripture is quick to point out that far from being just a powerful, Supreme Entity who resides somewhere in outer space, God - down through the ages - has been anxious to reveal to us His mind and heart, so that we his creatures can feel comfortable and trusting in His always-loving presence. Psalm 50 tells us that God is good; His loving-kindness lasts forever; His faithfulness is without end. And the gospel evangelists tell us over and over again that Jesus, who is the very image of God, was humble even unto death, and is our Way, our Truth, and our Life.
We all know I could go on and on with the good things Scripture has to tell us about God, but the simple point I'm trying to make is that once we recognize our duty to praise Him, we can go beyond the usual "Praise God, Praise you Jesus, Now and Forever," when we gather to pray. Now I'm not saying that these are not good and pleasing to the heart of God, but our goal, according to spiritual writers such as Babsie, is to get to the point where we become so comfortable with God that we begin to praise Him from our own personal experiences, from our heart, and with the Psalmist of Psalm 145:21 pray: "May my mouth speak the praise of the Lord, and may all flesh bless His Holy name forever and ever." . . . So that we can begin to say: "Praise you God for your patience and your wisdom. Praise you God, for You are the Good Shepherd, our Teacher, our Creator, our Savior."
Once I began to understand why we need to praise God, and how easily we can learn to grow in our praises, I became aware of its great value. Because . . . and I think this is one of the most important things I've ever learned in all my years as a Charismatic . . . that God, according to Psalm 22:3, actually makes His home in the praises of His people. What do I mean by that? I mean that if we ever want to make God present in a situation, we can do it by simply beginning to praise Him. And that means when things are going "swell" but also when things are not "swell." I think the words of William Law, which I quoted at the beginning of my talk, are worth repeating. He says:
"If anyone could tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing . . . "I know this works because it has worked for me. (Brief personal witness about Ray's death and the ensuing loneliness. It was only when I praised - yes - praised God that Ray was taken from me . . . and, in effect, accepting the fact that God had a plan for my life and this was part of it, that I actually began to relax and embrace God's plan.)
Praising God when things go right is easy -- no problem. The hitch comes when we try to praise God when things are going wrong. In such cases, our prayers may have to take on a very unorthodox twist and go something like this:
I'm in a mess . . . but I know you, God, are great.
I feel so alone, but I know You'll never forsake me; you are with me always.
My friends have let me down, but my God, I know you are always faithful.
I don't know what to do, so all-wise and knowing God . . . be my help.
Lord, I feel like I'm going to die, but you give life.
You are perfect.
Your grace is sufficient for me.Praying this way, we find that in place of negative thoughts and emotions which tie us down to our troubles and pain, our faith is gradually built up, while the power of the evil one over us is being broken. And herein lies one of the great values of praise: Where God enters in, the devil always begins to recede.
In Mark 1:24-25, we read that when Jesus entered the synagogue and the man who was possessed by the demon saw Him, he cried out, "What do you want of us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are . . . the holy one of God." Jesus rebuked him sharply, "Be quiet! Come out of him. At that, the unclean spirit convulsed the man violently and with a loud shriek came out of him
We, too, as we begin to make God present through our praise, will see the demons in our lives begin to leave. Praise then is not only a beautiful gift to God, but is a valuable weapon God gives to us against the evil one to use for those times when we seem isolated, cut off, discouraged, unable to go any further.
Throughout the history of the Charismatic Renewal, it's been obvious time and time again, wherever praise is full, there is power and joy. And that's why it's so important that we learn not only the beauty in it, but its tremendous power to move the heart of God. God does not need our praise. We need to praise God. I pray that the Lord will bless and encourage each of us as we seek always to honor Him with our praise.
Praise God!
Reference Materials:
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