CHRISTIAN BLOGGIT: HE WILL DO IT FOR YOU, HE WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH

PEACE BE STILL

Blessed quietness holy quietness
What assurance in my soul
Over stormy seas, my Jesus speaks to me
PEACE BE STILL

Blessed quietness holy quietness
What assurance in my soul
Over stormy seas, my Jesus speaks to me
AND THE BILLOWS CEASE TO ROLL

PEACE BE STILL

adapted from an old chorus....

HE WILL CARRY YOU

There is no problem too big
God cannot solve it
There is no mountain too tall
God cannot move it

There is no storm too dark
God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep
He cannot soothe it

Oh, if He carries the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my brother that He will carry you
Oh, if He carries the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my sister that He will carry you

He said, "Come on to me all who are weary
And I will give you rest, rest, rest, rest"

Rest, rest, rest

There is no problem too big
God cannot solve it
There is no mountain too tall
He cannot move it

There is no storm too dark
God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep
He cannot soothe it

Oh, if He carries the weight of the world upon His shoulders
Oh, I know my brother that He will carry you
Oh, if He carries the weight of the world upon His shoulders
Oh, I know my sister that He will carry you
I know my brother and I know my sister that Jesus will carry you

Songwriter

SCOTT WESLEY BROWN

Matthew 11: 28"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

John 16:33"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Merlin Carothers

PRISON TO PRAISE

CHAPTER 8

8. Praise Him!

Discovering the power in praise was one of the most exciting experiences I'd ever had; yet every time I wanted to share it with someone, it was as if God was saying: "Hold it. This isn't the time."

When Ron came to see me about his problem he was the picture of misery and despair. "Chaplain, you've got to help me. When I was drafted my wife tried to commit suicide. Now I've received orders for Vietnam, and she says that if I go she'll kill herself. What can I do?"

Ron was an attorney and a member of the bar association. But he had been drafted and preferred to join the Army as a Private. Now he was obviously distraught and unable to handle the situation with his wife.

"Ron, have your wife come in to see me, and I'll see what I can do."

Sue was also a picture of misery. Her body was frail and she sat on the edge of a chair, trembling from head to foot. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face.

"Chaplain." Her voice was barely audible. "I'm scared; I can't live without Ron."

I looked at her and a wave of compassion brought tears to my eyes. I knew Sue's story. She'd been adopted as a baby, was estranged from her adopted family, and had no one in the world except Ron. The two of them were very much in love and I knew that if Ron went to Vietnam, Sue would stay alone in a rented room in a strange town.

I prayed silently for wisdom to comfort her.

"Tell her to be thankful." I shook my head in disbelief. I must have heard wrong.

"Her, Lord?"

"Yes, you may begin to share with her!" I looked at Sue's tearful face and my heart sank.

"Okay, Lord, I'll trust You."

"Sue, I'm glad you came," I said, smiling with a confidence I didn't feel. "You don't have anything to worry about. Everything is going to be all right."

Sue straightened herself, wiped away her tears, and managed a trembling little smile.

I continued: "What I want you to do is to kneel here with me and thank God that Ron is going to Vietnam."

She looked at me in blank disbelief. I nodded. "Yes, Sue, I want you to thank God."

She immediately began to weep almost hysterically. I calmed her as best I could and began reading to her from the Bible the verses I had learned to trust in over the past few months.

"...In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you...All things work together for good to them that love the Lord." Carefully I tried to show her the wonderful truths I had found to be real.

Nothing seemed to help. Sue believed in God and in Christ, but in her despair her belief was of no comfort. Finally she left my office crying, with no peace of mind and certainly no joy.

"Lord, have I completely misunderstood You? That girl wasn't helped a bit."

"Patience, son. I'm working."

The next day Ron came to my office. "Chaplain, what did you tell Sue? She is worse than she was before."

"I told Sue the solution to her problem and now I'll tell you. I want you to kneel down and thank God that you're going to Vietnam and that Sue is so upset that she is threatening to kill herself."

Ron didn't see my point either. Carefully we went over the Scriptures: "...This is the will of God concerning you."

Ron said: "Now I understand why Sue didn't understand. I don't understand either." And he left.

Two days later they came back. "Sir, we are desperate. You must do something to help us."

They were both hoping that I as chaplain would be able to put in a plea for another assignment for Ron. Again I explained to them the only solution God was letting me hold up before them. "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord."

"If you can only believe that God is really working this thing out for the best for both of you, then all you have to do is trust Him and begin to thank Him—regardless of what the situation looks like".

Ron and Sue looked at each other. "What do we have to lose, Honey?" Ron said. We knelt and Sue prayed:

"Lord, I thank you that Ron is going to Vietnam. It must be Your will. I sure don't understand, but I'll try."

Then Ron prayed: "Lord, this is very strange to me, too, but I trust You. Thank You that I am going to Vietnam and that Sue is so upset. Thank You that she might even try to hurt herself."

I had a feeling Ron and Sue were not as convinced as I was, but I thanked the Lord that they were trying. They left my office, and later I heard what had happened.

Ron and Sue had gone into the chapel and knelt together at the altar. There they had turned their lives and each other over to God in a deeper commitment than ever before and now Sue had the strength to pray: "God, I thank You that Ron is going to Vietnam. You know how much I will miss him. You know I don't have a father or mother or brother or sister or family of any kind. I will trust You, Lord."

Ron prayed: "God, I do thank You. I give Sue over to You. She is Yours and I'll trust You to take care of her."

With that they rose from the altar. Ron went through the chapel and headed for his unit while Sue came back to the waiting room next to my office. She needed to sit quietly and collect her thoughts. While she sat there a young soldier came in and asked for the chaplain. Sue told him that I was busy. "But if you wait a little while, I'll tell him you're here," she offered.

"I'll wait," said the young soldier. He looked distressed and Sue asked: "What is your problem?"

"My wife wants a divorce."

Sue shook her head: "It won't do much good to see that Chaplain," she said, but the soldier wasn't easily discouraged, and while they were waiting he took out his billfold and began to show Sue pictures of his wife and children. When he turned to the next picture Sue screamed: "Who is that?"

"That's my mother".

"That is my mother", said Sue, shaking with emotion.

"That couldn't be," the soldier replied. "I don't have a sister."

"It is; I know it is!"

"What makes you think that?"

"When I was a little girl I happened to find a piece of paper in my parents' desk that showed I was adopted. In the upper right-hand corner was a picture of my real mother. That's her. It's the same lady." And it was.

Further checking revealed that Sue had been promised for adoption before she was born and her natural mother had never seen her. She had no idea where Sue was and had never heard anything about her since the day she was born.

Now Sue had a brother, a real brother, and with him came a whole family.

Was it coincidence? There are more than two hundred million people in the United States. What would be the odds against that particular soldier walking in the door to my office just as Sue had made a covenant with God to praise Him for her loneliness and lack of family?

But that wasn't all. As Ron walked back into his unit, he ran into an old friend from law school who was now a legal officer.

"Hi, old buddy, where are you going?" he said as he met Ron.

"Praise God, I'm going to Vietnam," Ron answered. They talked some more, and the friend persuaded Ron to ask for a transfer so that he could work with him in the legal office. Ron and Sue did not have to be separated. And no longer did Sue have to cling to Ron in fear of losing Him. She had come to have a joyous confidence in Jesus Christ and went about everywhere praising Him.

Later an Officer Candidate came to my office. He openly wept for a long time. "Sir, you must help me. My wife has been asking for a divorce. Her lawyer has just sent me the papers to sign. I just can't keep on with the Officer Candidate program. I don't even want to stay in the Army. Please help me."

"I know just how to get your problem solved. Let's kneel down and thank God that your wife wants a divorce."

He didn't understand any better than Sue and Ron did. Carefully we went over the Scriptures together. At last he decided he might as well try it. We knelt together and he prayed, turning the whole situation over to God and thanking Him for having allowed it to happen.

When he returned to his unit he was so shaken emotionally that they gave him the rest of the day off. He went to his bed and lay there, repeating over and over, "Thank you, Lord, that my wife wants a divorce. I surely don't understand it, but Your Word says I should thank You for all things, so I'll do it." All day long he thought the same things over and over. That night he couldn't sleep, so he went on thanking God. The next day he went through training in a daze. "Lord, You know I don't understand, but I thank You anyhow."

That evening he was sitting in the mess hall having dinner. As he was eating, it suddenly hit him. "Lord, you really must know what is better for me, much more than I do. I know all of this must be your will. Thank You, Lord; now I understand!"

At that moment another candidate tapped him on the shoulder and told him to come to the telephone.

In all the weeks he'd been a candidate, no one had ever wanted him on the phone.

When he lifted the receiver there was someone weeping on the other end. "Honey, can you ever forgive me? I don't want a divorce!"

A lady came reluctantly to see me. One of her friends had almost dragged her into my office. She told me that she had seriously been considering suicide, but didn't see what good it would do to talk about it.

Little by little she gave me the details. Her husband had fathered an illegitimate child by another woman. The child was being kept by her husband's parents. Every time she went to visit her in-laws, there was the child. To make things worse, the child's mother usually showed up at the same time. Even though they were having financial difficulties, her husband was sending money to his parents to help take care of his illegitimate child. She couldn't live with this constant pain inside anymore.

"Don't worry," I said to her. "You won't have to; there is a solution to your problem."

She looked up, rather surprised. "What is it?"

"Let us kneel here and thank God that your husband fathered this child." Again I went over the Scriptures on thanking God for all things. Wiping away her tears, she finally agreed to try it. We prayed, and she left the office determined to let God work out the problems in her life.

The next morning I called to see how she was doing.

"Wonderful!"

"You are?"

"Yes, Sir, I got up this morning just filled with joy!"

"What happened?"

"When I got home yesterday I began to think what I could do now that I am thankful for my husband's baby. I decided that if I was really thankful, I ought to do something about it. So I sat down and wrote a check to my in-laws and told them to use it for the baby. This morning I feel absolutely glorious."

The next day I called her again, and she said: "I feel even better than yesterday."

"What have you done now?"

"I started thinking of a lady who lives near me who has a retarded child. I went to see her this morning and asked if I could help with the child. She was so amazed she didn't know what to say. I stayed and started to do what I could."

"Do you know what to do for a retarded child?"

"Yes, Sir. I have a master's degree in working with special children."

"Have you worked with children since you graduated?"

"No, Sir. This is the first child I've ever worked with."

"Now do you understand why God permitted that thing to happen in your life?"

"Yes, Sir, I do, and now I really praise Him!"

From that day on she was a changed woman. Those who knew her before said she had always looked and acted as if she was in great pain. Now they say she looks and acts as though she has discovered some wonderful secret, and people are being drawn to Christ through her radiance and joy.

Jesus didn't promise to change the circumstances around us, but He did promise great peace and pure joy to those who would learn to believe that God actually controls all things.

The very act of praise releases the power of God into a set of circumstances and enables God to change them if this is His design. Very often it is our attitudes that hinder the solution of a problem. God is sovereign and could certainly cut across our wrong thought patterns and attitudes. But His perfect plan is to bring each of us into fellowship and communion with Him, and so He allows circumstances and incidents which will bring our wrong attitudes to our attention.

I have come to believe that the prayer of praise is the highest form of communion with God, and one that always releases a great deal of power into our lives. Praising Him is not something we do because we feel good; rather it is an act of obedience. Often the prayer of praise is done in sheer teeth-gritting willpower; yet when we persist in it, somehow the power of God is released into us and into the situation. At first in a trickle perhaps, but later in a growing stream that finally floods us and washes away the old hurts and scars.

One Army wife came to me, convinced that her problem had but one solution.

Her husband had developed an excessive drinking problem and for the past several years had been an alcoholic. Often he would pass out drunk on the living room floor where the wife or his teen-age children would find him, stark naked. In this condition he'd also been found in the hallway of the apartment house where several other families lived.

In final desperation the wife decided to take the children and leave. Friends persuaded her to at least come talk to me first.

"Whatever you say, Chaplain, don't tell me to stay with him," she said. "I just can't do it."

I don't really care whether you stay with him or not," I said. "I just want you to thank God that your husband is like he is." Carefully I explained what the Bible had to say about thanking God for all things and that if she tried it, God would be able to solve her problem in the best way.

She thought it sounded ridiculous, but finally agreed to kneel while I prayed that God would release in her enough faith to believe that He is a God of love and power who holds the universe in His hand.

At last she said, "I do believe."

Two weeks later I called her.

"I feel absolutely marvelous," she said. "My husband is a different man. He hasn't had a drink in two weeks."

"That's wonderful," I said. "I'd like to talk to him."

"What do you mean?" She sounded surprised.

"I just think it would be good if I talked to your husband about the power that is working in your lives."

"Didn't you tell him already?" She sounded puzzled.

"No, I haven't met him yet."

"Chaplain, this is a miracle," she cried out. "The day I was in your office he came home from work and for the first time in seven years he didn't go to the refrigerator for a beer. Instead he went into the living room and talked to the children. I was sure you had talked to him."

Our prayer of praise had released God's power to work in another person's life. The wife was openly crying over the telephone.

"Praise God, Chaplain," she sobbed, "Now I know God works out every detail of our lives."

A young soldier collapsed with a serious heart problem and was taken to the Fort Benning Hospital. He was released, but had to come back for frequent checkups and eventually was scheduled to go to another hospital for heart surgery. The news filled him with despair, and he began drinking. His despair increased until he decided to leave. He stole clothes from some of the men in the barracks and took off in the First Sergeant's car, which he wrecked totally.

The unhappy soldier was caught and put in the stockade to await trial. There another soldier led him to Christ. I went to see him, and he was still feeling depressed and afraid that he had messed up his life so thoroughly that he couldn't be of any use to anyone.

"Your sins are forgiven and forgotten," I said. "Don't think of your past as a chain around your neck. Thank God for every detail of your life and believe He has permitted all of these things in order to bring you to the place where you are now."

Together we searched the Scriptures for God's word on all things working out for those who love Him.

"And that doesn't just mean things that happen after you've asked God to take over your life," I said. "God is able to use even our past mistakes and failures when we release them to Him with thanksgiving."

He understood, and began to thank God in earnest for everything that had happened. As his trial neared, his defense attorney told him the best he could hope for was a five-year sentence and dishonorable discharge. The soldier remained undaunted and insisted that whatever happened, God had full control of his life and would work out whatever would be for his good.

The General Court-martial had a surprise ending. General Court-martial is never held unless the military authorities believe that the crime warrants severe punishment. This soldier was sentenced to six months in the local stockade and no discharge from the Army.

With Chaplain Curry Vaughan I went to visit him in the stockade. We thought we were there to encourage him; instead he encouraged us. He was filled with joy and it was catching. Soon the stockade rang with our laughter. The young soldier couldn't stand still; he laughed and ran and skipped around the visiting room.

Before we got ready to leave we asked how he was feeling. He had been scheduled for heart surgery and medically speaking was still in need of attention. He confessed that he felt very weak physically, and often his heart was troubling him. But he said: "It is wonderful. God is taking care of me."

We asked if he would like prayer for healing and he said:

"Please do; I believe God will heal me."

We placed our hands on him and believed that God, through Christ, was right there healing him. The soldier smiled radiantly and said: "I believe it is done."

A few weeks later I talked to the man's Company Commander.

"I believe it's a waste of government money to keep this man in the stockade."

"Why, Chaplain?" he said.

"He isn't the same man who stole clothes and a car and wrecked it. He's completely changed."

The Commander agreed and had the man released. A week later I asked him how he felt.

"Chaplain, I used to get tired after walking one hundred yards. Now I can run and I never seem to get tired. God has healed me."

Wherever I went I now shared what I had discovered about the power of praise. I was beginning to learn that praise was not just a form of worship or prayer, but also a way of waging spiritual warfare. Often when someone began to praise God for the problems that faced him, he found that Satan increased his attacks and the situation appeared to become worse instead of better. Many who tried the way of praise became discouraged and were unable to hold on to their belief that God was in charge.

Others simply didn't understand and refused to try praising God for unpleasant things. "It just doesn't make sense," they'd say. "I'm not going to praise God for something I just don't believe He as anything to do with. How can God have anything to do with my broken arm or my wrecked car or my husband's horrible temper? I'd be foolish to thank Him for something like that."

Of course it doesn't make sense. The question is, does it work? It didn't make much sense when Jesus said, "Leap for joy when you are hungry or poor or persecuted." Yet He very definitely told us to do just that. In Nehemiah 8:10 I read: "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

The enemy's arrows just can't penetrate the joy of someone who is praising the Lord. In II Chronicles 20 we read how a whole army was defeated when the Israelites simply praised the Lord and believed Him when He said that the battle wasn't theirs, but His.

The message is just as clear today. The battle isn't ours; it is God's. While we praise Him, He sends our enemies scurrying.

It was discouraging and sad to see those who refused to praise the Lord. My heart ached for them in their hopeless situations of suffering and misery. I asked God to give me wisdom to understand why they couldn't accept the way of praise, and also asked Him to teach me better ways of leading others to praising Him.

Nearly seven months after I first had the experience of laughing with joy in the Spirit, I went to a Camp Farthest Out Retreat. I was looking forward to a time of resting and rejoicing in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.

While I sat in the back of the auditorium during a healing service, I closed my eyes and on the screen of my inner vision God painted a picture.

I saw a beautiful, bright summer day. The air was filled with light, and I had a sense of everything being very beautiful. Up above was a heavy, solid black cloud beyond which nothing could be seen. A ladder extended from the ground up into the black cloud. At the base of the ladder were hundreds of people trying to get a chance at climbing the ladder. They had heard that above the blackness there was something more beautiful than anything a human eye had ever seen, something that brought unbelievable joy to those who reached it. As person after person tried to ascend they quickly climbed to the lower edge of the clouds. The crowd watched to see what would happen.

In a short while the person would come wildly sliding down the ladder and fall into the crowd scattering people in all directions. They reported that once they got into the blackness they lost all sense of direction.

My time finally came, and as I made my way up the ladder into the blackness it grew so intense that I could feel its power nearly forcing me to give up and slide back. But step by step I continued upward until suddenly my eyes beheld the most intense brightness I had ever seen. It was a brilliant whiteness too glorious to describe in words. As I came out above the dark cloud I realized that I could walk on top of it. As I looked into the brightness I was able to walk without difficulty. When I looked down to examine the nature of the cloud I immediately began to sink. Only by looking at the brightness could I stay on top.

Then the scene changed and I was back looking at all three levels from a distance.

"What does it all mean?" I asked, and the answer came:

"The brightest sunshine below the cloud is the light that many Christians live in and accept as normal. The ladder is the ladder of praising Me. Many try to climb and learn to praise Me in all things. At first they are very eager, but when they get into things that they don't understand they become confused and cannot hold on. They lose faith and go sliding back. As they fall, they injure other people who have been hoping to find a way to live in continual joy and praise.

"Those who make it through those difficult times reach a new world and realize that the life they once thought of as normal cannot be compared to the life I have prepared for those who praise Me and believe that I carefully watch over them. He who reaches the light of the heavenly kingdom can walk on top of difficulties no matter how dark they may seem as long as he keeps his eyes off the problem and on My victory in Christ. No matter how difficult it may seem to trust Me to work in every detail of your life, keep clinging to the ladder of praise and move upwards!"

I was half-dazed by the vision and the explanation and wondered how soon God would let me share it with someone.

At the camp I met a woman who was faced with problems of illness and family difficulties at home. She found it hard to believe that praising God was going to do any good.

Inwardly I asked for guidance, and God said, "Tell her!"

So I told her. "You'll be the first one to hear this," I said, and as she listened I could see how the heaviness literally left and her face and eyes lit up with a look of joyous expectancy.

In Ephesians, chapters one and two, I found my vision described in slightly different words by Paul:

"...Blessed (Praised!) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ...he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame...To the praise of the glory of his grace...that in...the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ...That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ...that you may know...what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion...And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Jesus Christ is raised above all the powers of darkness, and according to God's word, our rightful inheritance is right there above the darkness together in Christ. The ladder is praise!

I was becoming more aware of the power of praise, but also aware of some of the enemy's snares.

At the time I began to search my Bible for insight into praise I was also led to Scriptures describing the power we have received in Christ over the forces of darkness. I had long been aware of the passage in Mark 16 where Jesus

155 Prison to Praise

speaks of the signs that will follow those who believe in Him:

"In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

I had prayed asking God to show me if this was all valid for me in the twentieth century, and if it was, when and how to use it.

I found that I often became uneasy when I was around certain people, and asking God, I got the strong impression that what was wrong with them was of a demonic nature.

I prayed that if I ever came face-to-face with someone like that during a prayer-session that God would tell me what to do.

An Army wife was deserted by her husband who left her with three children. In desperation she tried to kill herself. She was rushed to the hospital and her life was saved. Friends brought her to see me after she got home. She was the picture of despair. Her friends had told me that for several years they had never seen her smile. I began speaking to her about the way of praising God but soon felt compelled to stop. I looked into her eyes and suddenly sensed that there was something very wrong and very evil within her.

Within me was a sense of fear; I realized that I was actually face-to-face with evil.

"Lord," I prayed within. "I've come this far, I can't go back now, so I'll step out in faith trusting that You'll do the work."

Looking straight into the woman's eyes I spoke out loud commanding the vicious spirit to get out of her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His shed blood.

Her glassy eyes suddenly cleared, and she could listen as I explained that God could work all things for good if she would only trust and praise Him.

She now was free to understand, and smiled with a beautiful radiance. Jesus Christ had broken the bondage of darkness that had threatened her life.

Chaplain Curry Vaughan, Jr., had begun to experience the power of praise in his own life. Soon after he had started praising God for his difficulties, he arrived home one evening to learn that his two-year-old daughter had swallowed a glassful of mineral spirits, a type of high-grade turpentine. She had already been rushed to the hospital. Curry jumped into his car and raced full speed to be with her. His mind was swirling with thoughts of fear and worry. He suddenly realized what he was doing, slowed the car to normal speed, and praised the Lord for what had happened.

At the hospital they pumped out his daughter's stomach, x-rayed her and told Curry that two things were bound to happen. First, she would run a high fever that night; second, there was a ninety-five percent chance that she would develop pneumonia.

Curry and his wife Nancy took their daughter home, prepared to watch her very closely as the doctors had ordered. At home Curry took his daughter in his arms and prayed: "Heavenly Father, I know that Satan has tried to attack me once again, and I have praised You! Now I claim in the name of Jesus that Virginia will not get a fever and she will not get pneumonia." The next morning Virginia woke up as bright and chipper as ever. She had suffered no ill effects.

A successful businessman came to see me about his teen-age daughter. I knew the family and knew that their daughter had received more than the average amount of love and care, yet she had developed a violent hatred of her younger sister. She would lash out and strike her with whatever heavy object she could find.

The distraught parents had taken her to the psychiatrist for treatment, kept her on tranquilizers and prayed for years that God would help them find a solution to their terrible problem.

They realized the danger as the violent outbursts increased.

I met with both parents and challenged them to try the one thing they had failed to do.

"What is that?" they both asked.

"Thank the Lord that He has given you this child to meet your need. Really praise Him for knowing exactly what would be the greatest blessing to your family."

At first they thought this was completely beyond what they could do. They had tried for years to solve the problem, and knew of no way to suddenly be glad that everything was exactly the way it was. We went through the Scriptures together and then prayed that God would work a miracle and help them to thank Him.

A miracle did happen. They began to feel and be thankful. They practiced this daily for two weeks. Instead of constant worry and fear they experienced peace and joy.

One evening they were in the living room. Their oldest daughter stood in the middle of the floor holding a potted flower. She looked at them, and when she had their attention she smiled and dropped the pot in the middle of the rug. Dirt, glass and flowers went in all directions. The girl stood smiling, waiting for their reaction. Both parents had given themselves so completely to the practice of praising God that they automatically said, at the same time: "Thank You, Lord."

The daughter looked at them in amazement. Then she lifted her head and, looking toward heaven, she said: "Thank You, Lord, for teaching me." From that very moment she began to get well.

Her parents came to me rejoicing. The power of praise had worked. For years Satan had held the family in bondage through that girl. Now his spell was broken. In James we read that we are to draw near to God and resist Satan. In Romans 12:21 Paul describes how:

"Don't allow yourself to be overpowered by evil. Take the offensive—overpower evil with good!"

Some have asked me if this principle of praise isn't just another way to talk about the power of positive thinking. Far from it. Praising God for every circumstance does not mean we close our eyes to the difficulties. In his letter to the Philippians Paul says to worry about nothing, but

"In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Looking only at the good side of every situation is often a dangerous way of trying to escape the reality of it. When we praise God we thank Him for our situation, not in spite of it.

We are not trying to avoid our dilemmas. Rather Jesus Christ is showing us a way to overcome them.

There is a ladder of praise and I believe that everyone without exception can begin to praise God right now in whatever situation he may find himself.

For our praise to reach the perfection God wants for us, it needs to be free of any thoughts of reward. Praise is not another way of bargaining with the Lord. We don't say, "Now we've praised You in the middle of this mess, so get us out of it!"

Praising God with a pure heart means we must let God cleanse our hearts from impure motives and hidden designs. We have to experience the dying to self so that we can live again in Christ in newness of mind and spirit.

Dying to self is a progressive journey, and I have come to believe it is traveled only through praise.

God is calling us to praise Him, and the highest form of praise is the one Paul exhorts us to give in Hebrews 13:15:

"By (Christ) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name."

The sacrifice of praise is offered when all is darkness around us. It is offered of a heavy heart, unto God because He is God and Father and Lord. As we begin to praise Him, on whatever step of the ladder we may be, His Holy Spirit begins to fill our beings more and more.

To continually praise Him means a steady decreasing of self and an increase of the presence of Christ within us until with Peter we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

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Excerpts from

Joshua Mills

Joshua & Janet Angela Mills welcome you to

New Wine International

COME ON, WHY DON’T YOU JUST LIFT UP YOUR HANDS UNTO GOD IN THIS PLACE

JUST LIFT UP YOUR HANDS

IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF HIS PRESENCE

WHERE EVERYTHING CHANGES

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS

IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEALING

WHERE YOUR MIRACLE IS FOUND

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS

INTO THAT ATMOSPHERE OF BLESSING

WHERE THERE IS NO LIMITATION

IN WHAT GOD CAN DO

IN AND THROUGH YOU

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS INTO THE REALMS OF GLORY

COME ON, JUST LIFT UP YOUR HANDS INTO THAT CLOUD

JUST LIFT UP YOUR HANDS INTO THAT SPHERE

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS INTO THAT ATMOSPHERE OF GOODNESS

THE ATMOSPHERE OF HIS GRACE

THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD

LORD, TONIGHT IN THIS PLACE I THANK YOU THAT YOU’RE MOVING BY YOUR SPIRIT

LORD, I THANK YOU THAT YOU’RE MEETING NEEDS ALL ACROSS THIS ROOM TONIGHT

LORD, I THANK YOU THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS TOO DIFFICULT WITH YOU

BUT LORD, EVEN TONIGHT IN THIS ATMOSPHERE, THIS PLACE, THIS ROOM, THIS CHURCH

LORD, I THANK YOU THAT YOURE SHOWING UP

IN WAYS THAT GO BEYOND

NATURAL REASONING

NATURAL UNDERSTANDING

NATURAL LOGIC

LORD, YOURE SHOWING UP

JUST SHOW YOURSELF STRONG ON OUR BEHALF

LORD, I THANK YOU, THAT IN THIS PLACE TONIGHT

YOU’RE REACHING OUT FROM HEAVEN AND TOUCHING EACH ONE OF US WITH THE TOUCH OF YOUR GLORY

IN JESUS MIGHTY NAME

IN JESUS NAME

LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING US WITH YOUR GLORY

LORD, THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING US WITH YOUR GLORY

COME ON

JUST LIFT UP YOUR HANDS

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS

LORD THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING US WITH YOUR GLORY

HEY!

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

HEY!

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

COME ON

DECLARE IT OVER YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW:

SAY:

IT’S OUT WITH THE OLD

IT’S IN WITH THE NEW

IT’S OUT WITH MY PAST

IT’S IN WITH MY PROMISE

IT’S OUT WITH THE OLD

IT’S IN WITH THE NEW

IT’S OUT WITH MY PAST

IT’S IN WITH MY PROMISE …

IT’S OUT WITH THE OLD

IT’S IN WITH THE NEW

IT’S OUT WITH MY PAST

IT’S IN WITH MY PROMISE …

IT’S OUT WITH THE OLD

IT’S IN WITH THE NEW

IT’S OUT WITH MY PAST

IT’S IN WITH MY PROMISE …

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW…

CAN YOU FEEL IT TONIGHT

CAN YOU FEEL IT

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

WHOA….AHA…AAA

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

WHOA…

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

ONE MORE TIME DECLARE IT

SAY:

OUT WITH THE OLD

AND IN WITH THE NEW

OUT WITH MY PAST

AND IN WITH MY PROMISE

OUT WITH THE OLD

AND IN WITH THE NEW

OUT WITH MY PAST

AND IN WITH MY PROMISE

OUT WITH THE OLD

AND IN WITH THE NEW

OUT WITH MY PAST

AND IN WITH MY PROMISE

OUT WITH THE OLD

AND IN WITH THE NEW

OUT WITH MY PAST

AND IN WITH MY PROMISE

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

HEY!

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

THERE’S SOMETHING NEW NEW

NU-NU=NEW

NEW

NU-NU-NEW

COME ON

SOMEBODY PRAISE GOD IN THIS PLACE

COME ON

SOMEBODY PRAISE GOD

COME ON

SOMEBODY PRAISE GOD

WHOAAAAAAA….

WHOAAAAAAAA…

COME ON

SOMEBODY GIVE GOD A CRAZY PRAISE!

A CRAZY PRAISE!

A CRAZY SHOUT!

WHOAAAAAAA….

WHOAAAAAAAA…

HALLELUJAH!

JESUS CHRIST

YOU ARE KING OF KINGS

AND LORD OF LORDS OVER…

JESUS CHRIST

YOU RULE AND YOU REIGN WITH POWER…

JESUS YOUR GLORY IS FLOWING

LIKE NEVER BEFORE

THE REVELATION OF IT

THE KNOWLEDGE OF IT

THERE'S CHANGE THAT‘S COMING FORTH

BECAUSE WHATEVER THE GLORY TOUCHES

BEGINS TO CHANGE