Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD. 2 Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. 4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 8 he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.
Understand:
Psalm’s 111-113 all begin with a call to praise the LORD. The Hebrew word for “praise the LORD” is Hallelujah! In this psalm we see the psalmist contemplating the greatness of God, the wonders of a God whose greatness goes hand in hand with His compassion.
Praise dominates the opening verses. Why? Because as the psalmist tells us, God is exalted not only above the earth, but even above the heavens! His reign goes far above anything we can even imagine. And yet, this great and all-powerful God is concerned with the care of the needy. This mighty and all-powerful God is the one who lifts up his people. And it’s this thought of God’s greatness that leads the psalmist to break out in praise and worship.
Apply:
We see the same thing in the New Testament. John tells us in Revelation 19:1-6 that all of Heaven breaks out in praise when they look upon God’s greatness, all they can say is Hallelujah! Look at how John describes it, “1 After this I heard what sounded like a huge crowd in heaven. They said, “Hallelujah! The salvation and glory and power of our God! 2 His judgments are true and just, because he judged the great prostitute, who ruined the earth by her whoring, and he exacted the penalty for the blood of his servants from her hand.” 3 Then they said a second time, “Hallelujah! Smoke goes up from her forever and always.” 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who is seated on the throne, and they said, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 Then a voice went out from the throne and said, “Praise our God, all you his servants, and you who fear him, both small and great.” 6 And I heard something that sounded like a huge crowd, like rushing water and powerful thunder. They said, “Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, exercised his royal power!”
John is describing a great celebration! Think about it for a moment, the enemy has been defeated and all of heaven breaks out in joyous praise. In fact, John describes it like the roaring of rushing water and loud peals of thunder. That’s incredible!
You know this past weekend I was at the Kansas City Chief’s game, it is the loudest stadium on record; but when compared to the praise John describes here, the Chief’s stadium falls miserably short. The praise that we will one day experience in heaven will be unimaginably good. Hallelujah is the only word grand enough to describe it!
The great news for us today is that we don’t have to wait; we can enter into praise as we consider all that Christ Jesus has done for us. We have been set free from sin and death!
Take a moment now and consider what Christ has done for you. Think of the way’s he has poured his compassion out on you, and let your heart begin to fill with gratitude.
Now, “1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD. 2 Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.