The Power of Praise

This is a story about one church in a small valley town that set out to encounter God together...well, this is one of their stories... 

One Sunday our church was asked to consider how we as individuals worship best...that is, where is it easy to sense God's presence?  We were then challenged to engage a venue where worship may come naturally for us and see what God does through it during the next week. The idea being that in doing this we might encounter God's abiding presence, and develop a practice or two that might help us posture in such a way that being with Him becomes familiar.  Some chose to go for a walk in the mountains or tend to their garden, others chose to study a passage of scripture, or serve side-by side with someone, and some chose to just sit in quiet contemplation with Him. It wasn't always easy nor was it automatic, but giving credence to different pathways to worship was profoundly valuable because it allowed us to set aside the "how" and simply seek HIM....And things always seem to go better for us when we turn from staring at ourselves and instead gaze upon God.  In those separate places of "Sabbath- worship", we - as God's kids - had a chance to breath in His goodness.

Upon returning the following Sunday, we shared our experiences and sang like we'd never sang before.  Then, something happened that no one would have expected.  The head grounds keeper was the first to see it.  He has an app on his phone that allows him to keep watch on the church facilities from a distance.  He knows if a door is unlocked or a light is left on or if the climate controls are off.  During the time of our worship, while we sang that second Sunday, his phone alerted him that the air quality in the room where we were gathered was dramatically off.   The carbon dioxide levels were reading way too high. After considering all possible scenarios, here's what seems to have happened (and my interpretation of it):  As we "breathed in" God's goodness throughout the week, it gave us something to celebrate, so we SANG!  We lifted high with abandon, the name of the Lord no matter our struggle or consolation, we just sang! And our collective exhale changed the climate of the room!  It was beyond what we could have imagined... in our praise we set off the sensor!




WOW! God inhabits the praise of His people…He lives in it...He’s found in
it! 

The stories shared that day were just like yours and mine.  Some involved real difficulty, others, a season of renewal and strength.  And some were quiet and not very sensational.  But God inhabited ALL of them because He inhabits each of us. The praise we lifted up together that day was an expression of shared fellowship in God's presence along life's bumpy sacred way.  

Now, when I am tempted to come to church and lazily go through the motions, or when I think that a moment with God won't amount to much and I consider dismissing the opportunity, I remember that day and refocus my easily distracted heart.  Because there are no ordinary moments... God is in them all.  He gives breath to his people.  His presence comes to life in our praise...and best of all, when we spend time with Him, He shows up in us.