HE PREFERS YOUR PRAISE - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isa 4-6
HE PREFERS YOUR PRAISE Monday, August 2, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2) READ: Psalm 29:1-2 God created you to fellowship with Him. After man’s fall, God began to seek for someone among the fallen ones with whom He can re-establish fellowship (John 4:23-24). The best way to fellowship with God is by praising and worshipping Him. According to John 3:3-8, if you have been born again, you have been born of the Spirit and you are spirit too. You then qualify to fellowship with God. Fellowship is also appreciating God and telling Him how good He is. One major challenge of leaders is getting someone who truly appreciates or encourages them. Most people are burdened with their needs and think of only what they can get from their leader. Appreciation from immediate subordinates is of greater value to a leader than the one that comes from outsiders. God values your fellowship so much that inspite of the billions of angels shouting “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”, He still inhabits the praises of His people. God prefers hearing praises from you and I whom He made in His own image than praises from angelic beings. Are you praising Him daily? Praise gives you a special standing before God. A standing not even the angels can boast of. After creating the earth, because there was nobody to praise Him, God praised Himself (Genesis 1). He looked at each work He had done and said, “It is very good”. God loves to be praised. He deserves to be praised. He had worked for it and so it will be sheer robbery to deny Him His due. Hence, Psalm 29:2 says, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of His holiness”. When you praise or worship God, you are only stating the obvious. Your praise cannot add to or diminish from Him. How much of your time do you devote to His praise? Moreover, God wants to send you to preach. He wants to anoint you to a point where the miraculous would be common place in your life. However, He wants you to be with Him more than anything else. He demands your praise, worship and appreciation. Create time for this on daily basis and you would be amazed how your life can be turned around for the best. If you spend quality time in His presence, you will get to know Him more. The less time you spend with Him, the less you know of Him. ACTION POINT: God awarded credits to Himself over His works at creation. Awarding credits to God particularly the best marks for what He has done in your life and family is acceptable praise.