Intro by Edith Ohaja
It is my pleasure to introduce to you this guest post by my dear friend and sister, Rita F. Kurian. The post is an exposition on the power we can harness when we praise and worship God. The post is rich, as Rita’s writing always is, with personal experience accounts.

Rita is a Bible College-trained minister who runs a blog through which she uses her God-given skills in creative writing to share inspiring poems, testimonies and devotionals to reach the lost and encourage the saved. (More on her at the end of the post.)

I pray that you will be blessed by her engaging and Spirit-filled discourse on this very important topic. Consider it our weekend gift to you to bring to or rekindle good cheer and God’s transforming presence in your heart and home. I also pray more grace and fruitfulness on Rita’s ministry and heaven’s best blessings upon her family in Jesus’ name.

THE POWER IN PRAISE AND WORSHIP

In the midst of a dark gloomy night, when all hell breaks loose and things go wrong, it is very difficult to even look to the heavens to pray. Either we go into a frantic mode of endless doing and rushing around or we go into a retreat mode of slinking into a dark corner. Some hide under the comfort of a blanket and shut out the world because situations have become too overwhelming.

Whatever our reactions to trouble or difficulties, there is a little something we can do. It may start as a tiny whisper, and then shrill into some loud expressions, but we can start, and when we do, it is potent and powerful.

Years ago in 2008, I was perhaps drowning in dark waters from which I thought there would be no return! I found it even difficult to pray and open my Bible. One night I had a dream. In that dream, I was in a place which was dark and full of slimy creatures, demons. I kept rebuking them but they would slink away and come back after some time. I was finally exhausted.

Later in the dream, I started to sing a song. I first sang a song I knew but later, I started singing words of a new song, which were composed instantly. My voice rung out loudly … and then the little demons started to flee! Suddenly the sky turned a beautiful blue and the air around me became clear and clean and beautiful. In the dream, I could hear my own voice singing and as I awoke, I could still hear echoes of the song resounding. I got up with an amazing clean pure feeling as if I had met with the Lord in a special encounter in that dream.

I do feel that Jesus revealed to me the secret warfare of songs of praise that have the power to chase away demons. There is a verse in the Bible that captures this.

“May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands.” – Psalm 149:6

From that day onwards, I found a breakthrough that brought about a change in my situation. I started to come out of the dark waters. More importantly, something changed within me.

In the next few days, I opened the Bible and my eyes fell on the following verse very clearly as if the Lord was speaking to me directly.

“And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.” – Psalm 40:3

Amazing things happen when we learn to sing in dark times. It may start as a weak whisper, but it will soon become a powerful torrent under the Holy Spirit and bring forth mighty miracles!

There was an old classic written by the late Merlin Carothers called “Power in Praise.” In this wonderful book, he remarked that praising in the midst of the darkest time can actually transform and translate the situation. He shared umpteen testimonies of people who saw that change. A mother first reluctantly started praising God for her daughter who was living a wayward life. As she was doing that, the daughter in some far away bar started to cry and suddenly wanted a change in her lifestyle. This heralded a total transformation in her.

Praise is needed day to day. Living in praise is powerful. It changes us and increases our love for God but there is something else we also need to practise and that is worship.

Praise differs from worship. Praise refers to giving God glory for His greatness, might and goodness in connection to His deeds and acts, the nature He created and the wonders He does.

Worship is higher. It is pure adoration of the Lord. We just adore the Lord and love Him with no connection to any of His deeds or wonders or creation. In that deep, rich adoration, we are transported into the Holies of Holies and see the Lord. We are overcome by His Glory and probably fall amazed to the ground. There sometimes are no words in the Holy of Holies. It is in the Holy of Holies that God can meet us in a new dimension and fill our hungry souls. In the Holy of Holies, we are not asking, not seeking, not knocking. It is still and quiet, but very powerful, like a roaring waterfall cascading around us.

In that meeting with the Lord, He transports us on the wings of worship to walk on a new plane, the Highway of Holiness. When we walk out of that secret worship place, we are equipped with a new power from the Lord, and because we have the privilege to walk on the Highway of Holiness, no demon or unclean thing has the power to touch us.

We can only worship God, in Spirit and in Truth. We need to have the life of Christ in us to enable this type of pure worship because Jesus is the Truth and the Spirit given to His people at salvation is the Holy Spirit. When Psalm 96:9 says, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” it literally means worship Him in the Holy of Holies.

A very great evangelist of our day who has impacted millions in the world shares about his times of worship to the Lord. He just goes into the Holy of Holies and adores the Lord and in that place, there are no words, no wanting, no asking. He just loves and adores Jesus and when he comes out, he is transformed. The people around him feel the Presence of the Lord on his life and know he has been with Jesus. (I do not name this evangelist for certain reasons, but I do recognize that his life has impacted millions.)

If we can walk into the closet of worship, just adoring the Lord, asking for nothing, we will have a Divine Encounter with Him. We will come out glowing, filled with His presence. And as we continue to have these wonderful worship times with the Lord, we will fly up on the Wings of Worship living on a higher realm even on Earth!

It comes down to spending time both in praise and worship but I would suggest more of worship. If we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, He will lead us into the presence of God, often with praise that graduates to worship as in our congregational services. But we should remember that these two instruments can do more to bring healing, deliverance and whatever else we want our way than any amount of crying in prayer can. And they will draw us close to God as He desires us to be. Amen in Jesus’ name..

Rita Farhat Kurian

ABOUT THE WRITER
I grew up in Darjeeling, India. I got saved in 1992, served in ministry for six years in Calcutta Emmanuel Ministries, a helps ministry. I was looking after a few girls who were orphans, teaching scripture in the school for underprivileged children and also served in administration. After this, I went to Mumbai for Bible College for three years. In 2008, I had my own spiritual revival after a period of slump and now pursue writing.
I am married and I have two sons, four and ten. I work on medical reports online from home.
The name of my blog is Revival Rain and my Facebook page is called Lighthouse.

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