What is the highest work a Christian can do? It is not merely praying or doing a lot of things for the Lord, but it is praising. When we praise the Lord, we enthrone Him and we exalt Him. The highest work carried out by God’s children is praise – the highest expression of a saint’s spiritual life is his / her praise to God.
God is enthroned upon the praises of Israel (Psa. 22:3), and His name is being exalted and uplifted on the earth through our praise! Praise the Lord! David praised God three times a day (Psa. 55:17) and even seven times a day (Psa. 119:164). We should follow his pattern and praise the Lord even more than 7 times a day! Praise the Lord!
The Christian life soars through praises
We all know that in our experience it is not easy to praise the Lord. To praise many times means to transcend everything to touch the Lord and praise Him. We need to learn from the Lord Jesus and not murmur or complain when something unpleasant happens to us, but we would rather praise the Lord even in our trials.
The more others try to put us down, the more we need to praise the Lord and soar above the situation. We need to learn to know that God is God, He is sovereign, He cares for us, and we are the works of His hands, under His tender care. God is in control, and we are not – therefore, we should just praise the Lord!
“Nothing can ripen and mature a man like sacrifices of praise.” (Watchman Nee) Our Christian life is not an easy life – we go through a lot of things, sufferings may come, dealings from the Lord are there, and there’s the discipline of the Holy Spirit. God chastises all those whom He loves, and He perfects us, deals with us, and wants us to grow in life.
The best way to ripen and be matured in life is the way to soar above everything – by praising the Lord in everything. Praising the Lord does not have anything to do with ourselves, our condition, our situation, etc – we praise the Lord for what He does, what He is, and even simply that He is!
Spiritual victory depends on praising
In 2 Chronicles 20:20-22 there’s the story of Jehosaphat who, once he received the confirmation from the Lord that his enemies (which outnumbered his armies) will be defeated, he set all the children of Israel to praise the Lord and sing songs of praise! The way we defeat the enemy is not by engaging in warfare with him or by battling him – it is by our praises!
What can Satan do to us when we offer to God a sacrifice of praise? When in spite of the enemy’s pressure and attacks, we praise the Lord, the enemy is defeated! Don’t try to overcome Satan by yourself, and don’t struggle or fight him – just praise the Lord! Oh, Praise the Lord!
Even though this way may sound crazy to our human ears and in our human experience, the way for us to have the spiritual victory is to praise the Lord! Actually, the Lord has already won the victory, and we are seated together with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6), far above the enemy’s bothering and his attack.
We shouldn’t pay too much attention to finding a way to overcome the enemy – the more we engage in battle with Satan, the more we waste time and energy, and the more we are defeated. Just praise the Lord! Soar above the situation by turning to Him in spite of the situation and, from the position of the ascension, praise the Lord! He has defeated Satan!
Believe, praise, and you will have the victory!
Don’t wait to “see signs of victory” before you praise the Lord. In a battle the people usually shout for joy once the victory is obtained. In the spiritual realm it is different: we first praise the Lord and sing songs of praise to Him, and then the enemy is defeated!
“Once God’s glory fills your eyes, you can believe. Once His glory fills your spirit, you can praise. You have to see that God is above everything and is worthy or your praise.” (Watchman Nee)
When we praise the Lord, Satan has to flee. As we pray and open to the Lord, we will at one point have the assurance that the Lord has already answered our prayer – we should then just praise the Lord!
I am so encouraged to learn to praise the Lord! Brother Nee’s word in the booklet called, “Praising” is so real, so high, and so practical! We have to sing to chase the enemy away!
Do you have dark thoughts, thoughts of criticism, murmuring, complaints, or even attacks from the enemy? Praise the Lord! Chase the enemy away by praising the Lord!
We first BELIEVE, then we PRAISE, and then we will experience the VICTORY! God is above everything and He is worthy of our praise (see Psa. 18:3; 1 Chron. 29:10-13; Rev. 4:1-3; 5:6). Praise the Lord! The highest work carried out by God’s children is to praise the Lord!
Lord, open our eyes to see what is the highest work we as Your children can do for You! O, Lord, unveil us from any natural concepts and from any desire of the self to do something for You outside of You. Save us from struggling, trying, striving, or even fighting against the enemy. Perfect our praise. Cause our praise to rise and bring us into victory! Lord, we just praise You! Seven times a day, we praise the Lord! O, Praise the Lord!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from the booklet, Praising (By Watchman Nee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallisation-Study of Psalms (2), week 24;
- Hymns on this topic:
# Praise Him! Praise Him! Christ is Victor! He has won the victory!
# Hallelujah! Sing to Jesus, his the scepter, His the throne.
# When war is hot and fierce, / And Satan strong, / Then firmly trust God’s Word / And sing faith’s song - Picture source: Praise the Lord!
