Praise Worthy

              PRAISE WORTHY

 Writing this post was difficult for me, I always like to write about situations I have been in so I do not come off as "not wearing the shoe, so how do you know where it hurts?".
 I have had down times and "not so good" seasons (I do not like to use the term "bad times"). Seasons where it felt like all my prayers were just bouncing off the ceiling, times when I sank  deep into depression and I could not  relate my state to anyone. Now being in a not so good season is relative, as my lows can be another persons not so rough time, I hope you get the drift?

I like to write about these times because, my writing got developed in this season. I constantly  laid in depression to write all manner of things back then. My writings were always from a dark perspective until I turned it to God and light began to beam from my writings.

      If you have ever visited a prison you will know that life there is the worst. Everyday  people are dumped in prisons, remaining  there without trial. There are those who have been there for about three years or more without being taken to court for once; some  are awaiting trial, and a large number have been abandoned by their family members.  For a lot of them, their cell mates are the closet people they can call family. Life there isn't worth living. Inmates lack enough bed spaces; having a bed to sleep on is a luxury. The cells are unclean ,there is poor ventilation and diseases aplenty.  Life in a prison cell is equivalent to the lowest point of anyone's life.

     Paul and Silas found themselves in a situation highly relational to this; they had been thrown into prison for casting out a demon from a girl whose master used her demonic fortune telling skills to make money. They were kept in the inner cell and their feet were fastened with stocks. Stuck in the lowest point of life where depression,suicidal thoughts will mess your mindset up, Paul and Silas refused to allow their circumstance drain the songs from their lips; that night they stayed awake praying and praising out loud. "what are these guys doing? do they want to get into more trouble with the warden?" asked  one inmate to the other. No one could sleep with all the praise and worship Paul and Silas were doing.

  Praise and depression cant sit in the same cell.  The louder their praises, the farther depression and hopelessness went. Paul and Silas decided to pull off a Live performance and the crowd was blown away by their worship, that even the earth decided to quake and shake the prison foundation. The doors could no longer hold still and they had to join in too; the doors slammed open, the chains could not resist the praise either; the shackles and chains of every prisoner dropped to the ground!

  God inhabits the praise of his people. God himself had to come dwell in Paul and Silas' Praise worthy prison version concert. For God to dwell there, chains had to be broken, shackles had to fall off, the earth had to quake and all the witnesses of this dwelling had to stand straight in Awe of God's presence.

   
        Same can be seen with the journey to Canaan. The Israelites  had come a long way for forty years. They had walked in circles going to Canaan and had almost reached their destination but Jericho stood right in front of them. what a wall! it had stood in its glory for many years and no one had ever dared to go over it in battle. According to history, the wall stood as a "flood gate"; thick, long and tall. The biggest there ever was! On reaching the wall and beholding its magnificence, they stood in awe; Dumbfounded as to what to do, they got an instruction from the Lord to march round the wall seven times, offering Praises. With all the praising and worshiping, the walls couldn't stand still, a wall in its grandeur crumbled to the ground. God inhabits the praise of Israel. God himself had to come down and dwell in the praise of the Israelites. The walls had to fall in the awe of Gods presence.

 Praising God is proclaiming His greatness. Our praise invites God's power into our lives;

Praising God while on the mountain tops is not the issue, but praising Him while in the valley.

Worshiping God when all doors are open is not the issue, but worshiping Him when stuck in  a hallway with no open doors or windows  and no glimpse of light.

God wants you to worship and praise  him during the highs but most importantly in the lows.

Do the praise worthy concert through the trials.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praise of Israel

- Psalms.22:33 (KJV)