Text: 2 Chronicles 20:21-30
Memory text:
“For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.”
Psalms 47:7 NKJV
Many people do not understand the mystery of praising God. They count it as a waste of time and will prefer to pray or do some other things than to praise. Others do it as if being forced. They praise God with morose faces or they are completely mute or rarely open their mouths to sing. They hardly move their bodies to dance. Others get distracted during praise time. Some praise religiously as they only praise God or praise Him joyfully and excitedly when they are leading the congregation. Immediately after, they return to their real self. What a religious spirit! They pretend to love the praise of God when they are in the public and rarely do that in their closet. They are just pretenders!
For you to have rest, you must dwell in His presence continuously and praise invokes the presence of God (Exo 33:14; Psa 22:3).
God wants you to praise Him with understanding. You need to know who God is and know about His attributes, His capabilities and His dominion. “For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” (Psa 47:7). We serve the God who rules and reigns in all the earth. Every king is restricted to his own domain but our God’s domain covers the whole earth. He installs kings and He can remove one and raise another. It means no man has the final say in your life and no one can shut the doors of any nation in the world to you. You can see why God wants you to sing with understanding? You can see why the people of Judah sang joyfully? This is what Paul also means here, “…I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (I Cor 14:15).
Some people just read prayer items and have no understanding of what they are reading. Likewise some sing just to enjoy the melody and the tune but have no understanding of what they are singing. Let what you understand determine how you sing. You need to understand what you sing and feel what you understand. Only the song that you understand can profit you as you sing. Let your spiritual sense and sound go together; and your heart and head go with your voice. Let your praise be that of an understanding believer rather than that of a professional chorister!
Friends, although the tune of a song may affect its acceptance but it is the understanding of the song that actually affects the heart. Be excited in the presence of God and sing to Him with understanding. Hallelujah!
Prayer points
1. Father, give me understanding and let what I know determine how I sing, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, cloth me with the garment of praise and let me always praise You joyfully and with understanding, in Jesus’ name.
Today’s declarations
1. I sing with understanding and I experience what I understand.
2. I seek to understand what I sing because what I understand will determine how I sing.
Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng