The Power of Praise

Reading Tim Keller's book on prayer, I received a powerful reminder of the power of praise.  Giving praise to God actually changes us.  Yes, we are commanded to praise the Lord, but it makes us better.

It reminds us Who is in charge.  It connects us to the Source of life.  It changes our perspective.  It opens the way for him to share his blessings.  It fuels life. 

When I saw the tireless praise of believers in Uganda, I wondered how long it could last.  Apparently a very long time.  They never tired of expressing praise to Jesus.  It wasn't like a long worship service.  It was an attitude of reflective thanks and joy in Jesus.  I saw it as they worked, as they ate, as they visited.

When our praise is powered by emotion, it will fade with time.  But when praise is fueled by the Spirit, he gives us renewed energy.  We can embrace moments of life with joy. 

Praise connects us with reality.

The Power of Confession

I have a confession to make.  I have been way too slack about confessing my sins to God.  I have taken for granted that Jesus died on the cross for me, that I have received his gift of forgiveness, and that my sins are all gone.  That is all true.  But I can't take it for granted.  I need to confess my sins.  In my daily time with Jesus, I need to make sure that I acknowledge specifically how I need to repent.

I have often noticed a distance from the Lord, like my relationship with him is just flat.  As I am reading through Tim Keller's book on prayer, I obviously came across the importance of confession.  Oh yeah.  I need to do that.  Not just because I am supposed to, but because I need the life that comes from openly, specifically agreeing with God about my sin.

I began listing my sin.  It's worse than I thought.  Realizing one sin helps me realize another.  I'm not wallowing in woe-is-me depression.  I'm just seeing that addressing these areas of "missing the mark" will help me live more like God wants me to.  Duh.

Confession brings life.  Wow!