God loves it when we “praise” Him. Psalm 22:3 portrays a picture of “God inhabiting the praises of His people”. The Hebrew essence of “inhabited” is a depiction of the Lord sitting down and dwelling. Our praises are so precious to Him that He stops and abides with us in the very midst of our praise. Think about that. The word “praise” occurs nearly 300 times in scripture. Interestingly, a vast majority of those references are in The Psalms, including:
Psalm 9:2 “I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” ESV
Psalm 22:22 “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will raise you.” ESV
Psalm 22:23 “You who fear the LORD, praise Him…glorify Him…stand in awe of Him…” ESV
Psalm 33:1 “Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” ESV
Psalm 40:3 “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” ESV
Psalm 113:1 “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!” ESV
Are the waters deep? Are you lonely? Discouraged? Do you find yourself even doubting whether or not God hears your prayers or cares about your troubles? Every time you try to “look on the bright side” is a dark future all you see? Maybe it’s time to praise Him and ask Him to come and dwell in your life.
When it begins to rain in your life, praise Him. When you can’t breathe, praise him. He is in the midst of it all. The chorus of one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs says, “And I’ll praise you in this storm — and I will lift my hands — for You are who You are — no matter where I am…” You may not sing your troubles away, but I’ll bet you feel the presence of One who sticks closer than a brother. And I promise you that when He “inhabits your praise” it will turn your life around.
Source:AACC
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