Weapons of Praise

This year, I turned forty, and one of my goals was to run a half marathon. I did some research and selected one that fit my criteria for location and price. What I did not really factor in was training time. 

As I counted up the weeks until the race, I realized that if I started at two miles, I would need to add one mile each week in order to work up to thirteen miles by the week before the race. Undaunted, I began with my two-mile runs, steadily increasing my distance week by week.

Things were going well until, during the middle of a 6-mile run, I developed some pain in my left hip. That night, the pain kept me up, and over the next few days, even walking became difficult. After some time, I learned I had partially torn a muscle. This injury brought an abrupt end to my half marathon aspirations for the year.

In my haste, I was not careful to build up my strength and endurance.  My body was not up to the task of running a long distance. I had hurried through the foundational work, skipping over the slow, sometimes tedious process of preparing properly—a lesson that proved to be costly.

I have often faced a similar frustration and sense of inadequacy in my prayer life. I have categorized and prioritized different types of prayer – if not consciously, then certainly in practice.  I have lofty aspirations of spending quality time with God in prayer, but this often devolves into a list of names or needs, or a few half-formed sentences before I fall asleep. When I do carve out intentional time to pray, I skip right to supplication. 

Supplication is easy. It is easy to think of my own needs, the needs of my family, my friends, and the world. But taking time to praise God? That feels harder.  Sometimes, I even catch myself thinking it is a waste of time. There’s this little voice (my own) whispering, “If you don’t pray for this, how is God going to know about it?” or “if you forget to pray for this person, God won’t help them.” Driven by this underlying sense of fear, I race through my list of names and concerns, voicing these to God, convinced that I am spending my time in prayer in the most efficient, and effective, way possible.

Then one day, as I was reading Psalm 8, a verse jumped out at me that has really caused me to reevaluate my approach to prayer.  Verse 2 says: “through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Wait—what?  Not, “through the confession” or “through the earnest requests”, but “through the praise…” 

In that moment, the power of praise became real to me. I felt I could hear God saying, “this is so important, Mary Jo. When you praise me, things change in the spiritual realm. Darkness is pushed back. Enemies are defeated.” Praise builds a fortress of protection against the attacks of the enemy. It’s not just words—it’s spiritual power. 

When we praise God, we are taking time to recognize Him for who He truly is – All-powerful, Omniscient, Creator and Sustainer, Savior, Comforter, Giver of Wisdom, Glorious in Majesty.  Each attribute we proclaim reshapes our perspective on life, our circumstances, and the trials we face, putting them into their proper place. In taking time to praise, you allow your heart and mind to recognize and rest in His sacrificial Love.  You humble yourself before a God whose Holiness is a purifying fire, and from that posture then naturally flow into heartfelt confession. You wrap yourself in the arms of a Father of unfathomable Goodness and Kindness, and are emboldened into confident supplication. 

I don’t know where you find yourself this Thanksgiving season or what your prayer life looks like. Maybe, like me, you have been spending the bulk of your time in prayer asking God for things.  And that’s important. The Bible calls us into that posture. But I want to encourage you to build up your “praise muscles”.  Lay a strong foundation of thankfulness that can stand firm against any attacks of the enemy. 

Need some guidance to get started? Many of the psalms are full of praise and adoration, but here are a few specific ones: Psalms 29, 46, 47, 92:1-8; 103, 145; also 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 4:11, 5:12.