Praising God is hard to do when you are going through difficult times. Praising God is hard to do when you don’t feel like praising him. But there is power in praising God when you go through difficult times. And I want to share with you a prayer that will help you to focus on God’s characteristics so that you can look at how big God is rather than focusing on how bad your circumstances are.
BENEFITS OF PRAISING GOD
1. God will fight for you.
2 Chronicles 20:22, "At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves."
In that story, King Jehosaphat was up against an army that was going to invade his land. God had the opposing side fight among themselves instead of fighting with King Jehosphat’s army.
Psalms 5:11, " But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy."
3. Praise makes your troubles seem smaller.
Colossians 3:2, " Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth."
SHOULD WE PRAISE GOD THROUGH GOOD AND BAD TIMES?
In the book of Job, Job answers this question so beautifully.
Job 2:10, "……… Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?"
Job was talking to his wife who was questioning all the bad things that were happening to him. And in Job’s defense, I think we should accept and praise God in the good and the bad times. As we see in the paragraph above praising God has its benefits.
I know from experience that when I wasn’t in the mood to praise God and I chose to do it anyway, God changed my actions and my feelings and truly made the whole circumstance easier to deal with.
GOD’S ATTRIBUTES ( HIS CHARACTERISTICS)
Here are God’s characteristics found in the bible. I will use these characteristics for the prayer that I will share with you below.
Psalms 115:3, "Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes"
God is Holy
1 Samuel 2:2, "No one is Holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God."
God is Consistent
Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever"
God is Greater
Psalms 145:3, "Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness"
God is Better
Romans 8: 38, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.
God is Bigger
Colossians 1:16, " For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him."
God is Gracious
Psalms 103:8, " The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love."
God is Patient
2 Peter 3:9, " The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent."
God is Faithful
Psalms 86:15, " But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness."
God is Relentless
Psalms 23:6, " Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."
PRAY THIS PRAYER DURING DIFFICULT TIMES
Here are God’s characteristics made into a beautiful prayer.
Heavenly Father, I come to you with a heavy heart. My circumstances are bigger than me, but I know that they are not bigger than you. Thank you for being sovereign. For reigning over everything. For being Holy. God, you are perfect and everything you want for my life is far greater than anything I could ever imagine. Thank you for being consistent. You are never in a bad mood. You are always good. Thank you for being greater than any temptation the enemy throws my way. For being better than anything the world has to give. And for being bigger than any sin or failure in my life. Thank you for being gracious. Loving me no matter what I have done or will do. Thank you for being faithful. Never changing, always the same, always with me. And for being relentless. Never giving up on me. You are truly an amazing God and I love you. I leave my worries in your hands and I am choosing to trust you with them. In Jesus’, name I pray Amen.
CONCLUSION
I hope that prayer helps you to cope with what you are going through good or bad. We truly do have an amazing father in heaven. And he wants nothing better than to see you happy. Continue to thank him for who he is. And watch what amazing things he can do in your life.
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*All verses are taken from the New Living Translation
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