THE POWER IN PRAISE AND WORSHIP by RITA F. KURIAN
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 is wonderful but worship is superior to it. - Rita F. Kurian Click To Tweet
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.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. - Psalm 96:9 (KJV) Click To Tweet
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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I can totally relate. There’ve been times when prayer looked too heavy, burdensome even. But just lifting up my voice to sing made a whole lot of difference. Whether it’s hymns or any other spiritual song, praise and worship is a weapon every believer should use from time to time. Bless you Kurian and Aunty Edith for sharing!
And bless you, Solomon, for that affirmation. Have a beautiful new week in Jesus’ name.
Thank you Solomon for reading…the power of praise and worship is such a breakthrough!!
Like my preacher always say ‘where prayers don’t work, use praises….’ Praises are a powerful tool for breakthrough, especially in circumstances that may seem impossible to deal with. When one prays God answers, but when one sing praises he takes immediate action, like in the case of Paul and Silas.
Powerful truth!
Thanks for sharing this.
Blessings,
Lynn
Glory to God! Thanks for dropping by, Lynn! You are highly blessed in Jesus’ name.
Thanks again for sharing Edith…I was just spending more time worshiping God these last few days..adoring Him, and the joy with burning warmth is beyond words in the realm of worship. Also reading the Word leads us to knowing His character more and that purifies our depths of worship, just thinking about that..:)
You’re welcome, Rita! Go on enjoying the Lord, my dear! It’s a privilege only the saints have.
i am touched by this post. i believe by the grace of God, praise is all i will do everyday. thank you
And worship. In fact, you will be better off doing more of worship. God bless you!
This is powerful, Edith! Thanks so much for sharing Rita’s post with us! I love Psalm 40:3 – such a great reminder that our praise (particularly in the dark times) accomplishes much more than we can imagine!
Glory to God! It’s a privilege to praise God and see miracles happen as a result or souls drawn to His kingdom. One Nigerian gispel artiste started what he called #TheHalleluyahChallenge and I hear that all manner of amazing things are happening in people’s lives as they participate. Our God is indeed awesome! Bless you, Carlie!
wow, interesting this is something i never took this serious, i thought it was all about prayer., thank you for this.
I am glad you were blessed by this. Thank God for my beloved sister, Rita, who contributed this post all the way from India.
It’s true, prayer and songs is a way we can please God and communicate with Him. Our voice is a weapon against the evil forces pervading this world.
Singing does more than just make you happy, it helps keep one on the right track. How you might ask? Well, sometimes when I sing, the lyrics speak to me and serve as a reminder of God’s commandments.
Yes, my dear, it’s such a blessing to listen to meaningful songs and also to use them in praising and worshipping God.
This is indeed thought-provoking. God feels elevated when we praise and worship Him. Jesus even said it in the bible that when we don’t worship God, he will cause stones to do that. In all my dealings, I will praise and worship Him. Thanks, Aunty Edith, for sharing this wonderful post.
We were made to worship Him. Nothing is more fulfilling than spending time praising and worshipping the Lord. You are blessed!
This post answers my question of how to communicate with God. I really appreciate. Sometimes, prayer becomes difficult to start. But once I raise my voice in praise, I find it easy to pray. Really, we need this. I need it more.bless you.
Praise lifts our souls to God very faster than prayer can do. Worship rests us in God’s presence in perfect solitude. Even in the midst of sin and hopelessness, singing praises to God drives us into contrition and eventually, reconciliation with our God in fervent worship. Thanks a lot for sharing this post.bless you.
not all problems and situations require prayer, some need us to praise God for the ones he has done so far.
Praise and worship is very important for we Christians. We shouldn’t focus on prayers alone and demanding things from God each time we pray, we should learn to praise, thank and worship him for the previous things He has done for us. When praying, we ought to praise, worship, thank, adore, ask for forgiveness, ask for your needs and thank him for answered prayers. The bible is a weapon which Christians use to fight the devil. So knowing our verses in the Bible is essential as a Christian in our everyday life.
Yes! Like the bible says, God inhabits the praises of His people. But really, worship is superior to praises… Great post ma
Praise usually confuse the enemy. The effectiveness of praise and worship cannot be over emphasized. The Bible record the powerful nature of praise and worship in Acts 16:25-26 ” But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaking; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”
Wow!!such an inspiring one. God bless you ma for sharing this experience cause its good to know that it’s still very possible to lift up our eyes to the heavens with songs of praise when all hell breaks loose. praises is absolutely the only weapon that prevails when one have tried prayer.
I can relate to this. When ever i feel that i am being overwhelmed by forces i can’t control, i simply praise and worship God because i know he alone can bring me out of my situations.
Thank you ma’am for sharing this inspiring piece. You’ve just told us that we should not focus on prayers alone, we should also learn to praise God and also thank him in advance.
woow I love this. praise can move mountains. Yes prayers work but praise is just something incredible. God inhabits in the praise of his people and he expects us to do it frequently
One of the power or effect of our worship is that we can receive breakthroughs in our lives when we learn to worship and praise God despite what we may be facing. Sometimes the enemy will stand as a fortress before us stopping us from receiving breakthroughs in our academics,finances, relationship, ministry, job and so forth. The enemy is not our friend and his job is to stop us from receiving what the Lord has for us, but God is raising up an army that will not accept defeat or let the enemy robs them of what is theirs but will worship him for their breakthrough.amen..
Praise and worship is really powerful indeed,sometimes when I kneel down to pray and start with praises,is always as if I am already seeing God,there is this straight connection.
I can remember wen I was small,if my mum want to pray she will tell one of us to start with a song,I would be very angry because to me I found it disturbing but something happened one day in my life and the only thing I was able to do was to kneel down and start praising God,I started connecting instantly with my father in heaven……..praises can change the unchangeable,praises can break many chains……..
Praises and worship helps me connect easily to God in prayers. It makes prayer a work over for me.
Most times when I felt depressed I just sing and worship and it kind of lightens my mood.
Lovely piece ma!!.I can relate to this, on so many occasions, praise and worship has been my medicine…woaooooh
There is so much power in praise and worship. When we praise God, we are granted all our heart desires. God loves praises and is ever willing to help us when we call on him through praises. We should always endevour to praise Him.
if there is one thing God doesn’t jock with its praise and worship.it is the only medium we have to please and make him happy that is why whenever we praise him He will come down in his glory to solve our problems.
Prayer is important but praise and worship is super important. In dark and trouble time just give God praises and he will grant you your heart desires
I can totally relate to this
Worship connects and links me to God in a way that prayer doesn’t .
I feel his presence, and it’s like he’s there with me, and it feels right.
There should be no season for praise and worship. In our dark and good times, praise and worship is important.
I have experienced the power of praise and worship first hand. Just by singing praises to God, I feel like all my burdens have been lifted.
Niz work.Prayer moves God but He is rapidly moved by our praises and worships to Him.It makes him go beyond giving us what we desire.
It’s truism, even in church we are thought that our Lord enjoys praises and worships but little did I know it has more effect over prayer.
There is power in praise and worship…. It is a medium we use to please God… Praises and worship is something incredible…
Praise and worship moves God from the thrown to do that impossibility. In addition prayer makes us see his hand but praise and worship enables us see his face. But we need to live right to allow us assess his presence. Am really inspired with this post ma.
Most times when I’m depressed I find myself singing praises to God. And I always feel better.
Thank you Ma for this post, I can rarely differentiate between praise and worship before I read this post but now I have fully known the difference. Truly, worship is a great thing to engage oneself in because it draws us closer to God. God bless you MA. I love your posts .
Praise and worship is the fastest way to connect with God, when u find yourself in a difficult situation just praise the lord
Yes! worship and praise is very good. Through worship,God can reveal to us certain things. I have witnessed a program where in the course of worship,the crippled walked. I was once in a dream,surrounded by witches, I went into worship and they all disappeared.
Prayers move mountains but praises move God. But the problem with Christians of this 21st century is that we worship God with our lips not with our hearts. Remember, we are created to worship Him.
The power in praise and worship cannot be over emphasized. You can never praise and miss. This is captured in Acts 16:25-26 “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake: and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” (KJV). Praise move God into action.
This post is for me, I have been in a situation where no earthly man can help me,one mid night I felt like someone woke me up, the next thing songs of praise filled my mouth .I can testify that the problem was solved within the week. With this post I am sure that whatever you want from the Lord, he already knows u simply remind him then praise his holy name den wait for a thunderous reply… Amen .God bless you many for sharing.
Its in deed a blessing when we sing and cry out in worship to the most high. The lord God values praise and worship more than any other thing. This is because it is the only thing we can offer to him,it is the only thing we can do to appreciate our lord. God can do any thing but he cannot praise or worship himself, that is the reason why he values praise and worship the most.
As long as we are alive, God expects us to esteem praising and worshipping ceaselessly than our daily food. That’s the purpose of our creation. Praise and worship even has health benefits attached to it because it is written in the Holy scriptures that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine .Nice post ma.
More grace.
Praise and worship are very powerful. When sincerely soaked in worship, it drives you to the spiritual realm where many things are revealed. Worship glorifies God and draws you closer to him. Just like king David who was declared a man after God’s heart due to his constant worship and praise to God.
Nice post . I can totally relate to this. God created us to praise and worship him not just because he can’t do without it but because He has seen the health benefits in praising and worshipping him ceaselessly. It is written in the Holy scriptures that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
The power of praise and worship makes you feel an overwhelming touch of His presence.
Wow this is beautiful I never knew that there was a difference between praise and worship…I thank God for leading me to read this post. We should remember our creator even in good and bad times.
Nice one ma.There is indeed power in praise,I for one see praise as an interaction with God because praise also does wonders in the life of so many people
Indeed we need to praise him especially in perilous times
Praise and worship lifts my spirit. It helps me to connect to God easily and worshipping God makes me feel all my burdens have been lifted. There is indeed power in praise and worship..
Wow….impressive I never knew that there is a difference between praise and worship. I thank God for leading me to read this post.
God bless Rita and Ms Edith.
Wow!!! This post has lifted my spirit. There is power in praise and worship. We can use praise and worship to conquer difficult times. Thanks Alot for this wonderful piece.
I have learnt alot from this article. Praise moves the mighty hand of God. When you praise him, he does more.
To praise and worship is the utmost thing to do, since we don’t have any other way to repay his good deeds, we should indulge in praise and worship which actually shows that we love and appreciate him
The power in praise is one thing that I know for sure. It is the food for God almighty. The beauty in praise is that it breaks barriers and chase away evil. It even melts the heart hardened. As the saying goes : “He who sings well….prays twice”.
This is true, praise and worship is all we can offer to God for his good deeds in our lives. We must try to always make out time to sing praise and worship to God and get filled with his Spirit.
There is really power in praise and worship. I recall my pastor telling us that praise and worship is a stronger form of prayer because by worshipping God, He automatically feels you with peace and joy and you will notice that your problems start taking care of themselves somehow. So thank you for buttressing that point Mrs Rita. It is reinvigorating.
Praise and worship is really a powerful tool. Praise and worship works wonders. I didn’t know that there is much difference between them, I just thought any one can go. But now I understand better. Thank you Ma for this post.
Praise and worship is the most essential part of prayer life….there is much power in praise and worship it moves God more we can always move Mountains with praise….God loves us dearly we just have to embrace this love with an open and honest heart……
The power in praise and worship is incomprehensible and inexhaustible.Therefore we are encouraged to worship God in our difficult moment
This teaches us the right way to praise nd glorify God We shouldn’t focus on prayers alone and demanding things from God each time we pray, we should learn to praise, thank and worship him for the previous things
: NEW DAWN GREETINGS MA
This is very awesome really there is power in praise and worship
Praise and worship works hand in hand when u praise God the heavens opens but you worship him we comes down to answer you praise means approaching God for who he is what he has done and what he is yet to do
I have a testimony on the power of praise and worship I remember 2017 when I was ill by the power of my praise and worship I received my healing without taking drugs and because I do engage in praise and worship i cant remember the last time I fell sick or took drugs of any kind
Praise is really powerful as well as prayer is but worship is superior to it worship is a pure adoration to the lord while praise is giving God glory.
This is encouraging, prayer seems like a big task, it’s something I forget to do most times but this post has taught me that a real communications can exist between God and I through through praise and worship.
Praise and worship lifts up the heart and soul… It is a fast means of connecting with the heavens.
The power in praise and worship is incomprehensible and inexhaustible.Therefore we are encouraged to worship God in our difficult moment
Indeed, there is power in praise and worship. Worship makes us get connected to God and to enter into the realm of the spirit. It also lifts our spirits. When we praise God, miracles begin to happen.
In the scripture according to prophet Ezekiel, he said that when one is praising the Lord he is praying twice and also in the New Testament when Paul and silas were praying, they prayed and sang. Praising the Lord is ultimate.
Lol! Where did Ezekiel say that?
I heard a man of God say songs are ladders in the spirit, here praise is not just songs but thanking God with praises and songs means everything to God..
There is holy ghost power in praise and worship. Bible says that he who sings prays twice.
I enjoy that stage most in Holy mass.
Sweetie, the Bible doesn’t actually say that. But it’s a good thought. Bless you!
Thank you so much ma, for sharing this touching story, sometimes devil uses our problem to cage us, we’ll be so down and weak to pray but the best way to communicate with God is through praise and worship, when you do this in his holiness as he said in the Bible you will feel his presence in your life.
Their is a great power in praise and worship, sometimes through praise and worship you pour your heart to God, praise and worship connects us more to heaven opens gates of heaven. Thanking God for what he have done for you through praise and worship , motivates him to do more things for you. It is always good to praise and worship God in every situation or difficulties you are passing through. Thank you ma for this educative and inspirational post God bless you.
Beautiful post. Personally I feel I can express myself better to God through praise and worship. It brings me to the right mood to converse with my creator.
I love music a lot so I can totally relate to the power of praise and worship… Instead of talking about it..Let’s sing about it!
Praises move God all the time. Most times, when you are facing a difficult situation and you have prayed and prayed about it. Try and switch to praise. Praise God and thank him believing that he has answered your prayers.
Singing: I enter to the Holy of Holies, I enter to honour the Lamb…
The power through praise and worship is real, that is the major food God requires from us because we are created for His pleasures. It’s only few people that remember to worship God in the face of trouble and that is very wrong. Let us see it this way that if we neglect worshipping God, then we are awing Him because we have not fufilled the purpose He made us. God bless you ma for this post, it made my day.
Praying is good and essential but sometimes all you need is to praise God. It can also work miracles.
Praise is really delicate. It a way to God heart.praise and worship helps bring down God glory.
I have once experienced something like her story, I was so tired of a lot of things going on in my life and I sang to God in praise and he made everything better.
My pastor will always say, ‘where prayers don’t work, use praises’ different problems have different approaches to their solutions. Prayer touches the heart of God, but praises bring down his presence.
Praise and worship is essential to Christian living.I was taught as a child that praise and worship is God’s food.looking from this angle,praise and worship should be a daily exercise if we don’t want to starve God.
Like a saying goes “prayers move mountains, but praises move God. There are times when prayers seem too heavy and unanswerable, in this situation, all we have to do is enter His courts with praise. praise and worship is an embodiment of prayer and it easily connects us with God.
Praise and worship are similar pillar in bringing down strong hold,when you are tuned or connected wholehearted you can move mountain, you can turn thing around for Good.so there is power in both weapons we should use it to our gain as Christians.
Praise and worship is very important for we Christians. We shouldn’t focus on prayers alone and demanding things from God each time we pray, we should learn to praise, thank and worship him for the previous things He has done for us. When praying, we ought to praise, worship, thank, adore, ask for forgiveness, ask for your needs and thank him for answered prayers.
Thank you for such a powerful exposition,there’s so much power to harness in singing praises that we are yet to discover and put to use.