Kathy’s Article In “Utah Cancer Connection” Magazine
In previous installments, I have discussed the physical, mental and emotional tools and techniques which can be used to shift from fear to peace. The spiritual aspect is by far the most important area of our lives to help us shift to peace. The key is how much we trust in God. When hard trials come into our lives, and they do, our relationship with God will determine if we feel fear or peace.
When we are suffering, we may ask, “Why God, why me?” We pray and plead for healing and relief. There is another kind of prayer. This is the prayer of praise to God. Calling upon the powers of heaven and surrendering our will to God is the most critical thing we can do in our times of profound need. It opens the way for the greatest miracles in our life. ‘Praise God’ is the deepest and most profound prayer that we can utter. As we put this to the test, we will find in the midst of our trials a peace that can come from no other source. We may think of Praising God as ‘Hallelujah’ or ‘Rejoice’ and it is, but it is also a deep surrender and trust in the path God has chosen for our life. It is in our darkest hour that praising God has its greatest power.
Praising God is based on accepting our present circumstances as God’s loving and perfect will. It is not a prayer asking for what we want or hope for the future. We don’t praise God out of our expectations, however, it is a fact that praising Him invites His Power to flow into our situation.
For most of my life, when I have been faced with great adversity and pain, I have immediately gone into a place of doubt and fear. In so doing, I have invited more darkness into my situation. In a period of great financial difficulty, we were in imminent danger of losing our home. Initially, I grieved the potential loss with sorrow and despair. I then made the decision that I had to let nothing deter me from praising God in ALL things, even in this. I surrendered my will to God’s. I consecrated and laid my home on His altar and said a prayer of trust and faith in the path that He had chosen for me. I said aloud, “I will go where you want me to go, Dear Lord.” I felt such an overwhelming peace come over me. I knew that no matter what was going to happen in my future, I was in the Lord’s hands. In my case, the Lord willed for us to remain in our home and miraculous blessings soon unfolded which provided a way for us to stay. I have no doubt that my prayer of praise to God invited these blessings. I also have no doubt that if we had lost our home and moved, the Lord would have had a purpose for my family and His will would have been made manifest.
The moment you voice the prayer of Praise to God you elevate your frequency or vibration. It is no longer you alone facing your trial, but you will have yoked yourself to our Savior. He states in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you that your burden may be light.” In the hymn ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ it says, “Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise.” We need to crush the Devil with our prayer of praise. Praise through your pain, praise through your sorrows, praise through your fear. He does have a plan for you. This is not a random universe. You are not suffering through your trial by chance. In some way, it has been divinely orchestrated to bring about God’s purposes for you.
We tend to think of ‘surrendering’ to God as bowing our heads in defeat. Instead, surrendering to God is opening our arms wide to the heavens in a gesture of receiving His will for us. He has so much more in store for us than we can possibly imagine. It is only for us to be willing to receive.
Praising God in our adversity and not in spite of our adversity can take teeth-gritting willpower. At first, you will be praising Him with a heavy heart. Praising Him is an act of obedience and sacrifice. The words may feel hollow and empty at first, but as you persist in your humble offer of praise, you will begin to feel a shift. Your circumstances may not change, but you will. You will feel strengthened and supported. You will feel God’s love for you. Your deepest hurts will lift and your tears will dry. Even Paul was told concerning his ‘thorn in the flesh’ that God’s grace was sufficient for him.
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” Isaiah 61:3
When the sacrifice of praise is made, even when all is darkness around us, His Holy Spirit begins to fill our being. We come to experience a real joy and happiness in the midst of what once appeared to be a tragic situation, or our situation may be completely changed. This knowledge of the blessings of praise is motivation for praising God, not a bargaining position. “Ok, now I’ve praised you, where is my miracle?” As we persist in our prayers of praise, even if we don’t have our heart in it, we are strengthened in our trials. We may actually need to pray in humility to plead for the presence of His Spirit to make it possible to praise Him. As we are obedient, though, it will create a mighty change in our soul and we will increase our trust in a loving God. It strengthens our relationship with Him and provides an intimacy that we can lean on in our times of deepest trouble and hardship.
Praising God actually becomes a conduit for miracles and blessings. We don’t praise God because He needs our praise, but because we need it. He knows that when we surrender our will in praise it opens our path to light, peace and happiness. Praising God is really a gift we give ourselves as it allows us to receive His will for our life’s journey and to let go of our resentment and fear. It opens the way for us to feel the presence of God and to feel joy in the midst of whatever kind of pain we may be experiencing.
The prayer of praise builds our faith. It gives us a whole-souled, unshakable faith as we feel his presence with us in answer to our prayers. Praise combined with faith is a causative force in the universe with which miracles are wrought. It is a source of inner strength through which we will find peace, comfort and the courage to cope with our adversities. The deepest level of our worship for God is to praise Him through our pain and to believe in Him. He is our solace in our sorrows, He is our strength when we are weak, He lifts us when we fall, He is our light when we feel lost in darkness; He lifts us when we fall. He suffered for us – not just for our sins, but for our sicknesses, our burdens and for our pain. He alone, will bring us comfort when we feel that all is lost. Hope grows out of our faithful prayers of praise which gives meaning and purpose to our suffering. It will give us peaceful assurance.
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27).”
May we anchor our souls in He who is love; in He who is peace. May we praise His name in ALL things.
Bless you and I send you Angels of Light for your own healing path.
