The Sacrifice Of Praise

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25

Paul had just cast out a spirit of divination from a slave girl in the city of Philippi. When her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they had Paul and Silas arrested, severely beaten and imprisoned. There in the Philippian jail, instead of despairing for their lives, Paul and Silas started praying and praising God by singing hymns at the midnight hour. There are five facts about praise:

(1) Praise is always vocal. Since it is an expression of your faith-which itself is not silent-praise is never silent too. Two Hebrew words for “praise” are shabach and halal, both implying to shout aloud noisily until it seems like you are clamorously foolish! Paul and Silas were singing hymns so loudly in the Philippian jail that all the prisoners could hear them clearly.

(2) Praise is a sacrifice. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” It is easy to praise God when life is going well. But for praise to be meaningful, it must cost you something. The most important time to praise the Lord is when everything seems to be going wrong, and you least feel like praising Him. Those are the moments when your praise is most precious to the Lord. Even though they were unfairly tormented, Paul and Silas decided to praise God by their sheer willpower and faith in Him.

(3) Praise is the cure for depression. It is the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Is. 61:3). Praise will lift up your spirit every time you feel down.

(4) Praise is a powerful spiritual weapon against Satan. Psalm 8:2 says that praise is the means by which we can silence Satan, the accuser of the brethren. Literally, that means that each time you praise the Lord, God will tell the devil to “shut up” on your behalf.

(5) Praise prepares the way for divine supernatural intervention. The literal Hebrew text of Psalm 50:23 says, “To him who offers praise, he prepares a way for God to show His salvation.” In the Bible, we read that both Jehoshaphat and Jonah had found this to be true. They had their deliverances when they started praising God. Deep in the dungeon of Philippi, the praise Paul and Silas offered to the Lord brought about a great earthquake that shook open the prison doors. The next time you are serving God and things don’t quite go the way you planned, remember to offer God your sacrifice of praise. Praise always triumphs gloriously!