PASTOR CHRIS IYEKE

You need an understanding of how praise provokes supernatural turnaround; once you can catch it, you will need no encouragement to praise, in line with your expectations.

• Joyful Praise provokes healing, health and wholeness.

Joyful praise and rejoicing entitles every believer to healing, total health, wholeness, and deliverance. You cannot praise God joyfully, and remain on your sick bed; joyful praise stirs up strength from the inside. When your heart is full of joy, and praise to God, it reflects on your countenance and on your body. It is the state of your heart that determines the state of your health. Proverbs 17:22 (KJV) – “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

You cannot be joyful, and not be healthy. However, until your heart is merry, song cannot flow from your mouth; songs are response to the condition of your heart. James 5:13 (KJV) – “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms”. Merriment of heart is the qualification to sing or praise; songs of praise flow cheaply, when the heart is full of joy and rejoicing to God. Naturally, you walk in divine health, when you are a praiseful person. Proverbs 18:14 (KJV) – “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” to live in total health, you need a heart that rejoices at Gods faithfulness and His righteous judgement.

Praise also guarantees deliverance. Psalms 32:7 (KJV) – “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” Praise delivers people from torments and demons; praise makes you whole. 1Samuel 15:14-17, 23 (KJV) – (14) “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” (15) “And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.” (16) “Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.” (17) “And Saul said unto his servants, provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.” (23) “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

• Praise grants us access to the voice of God, which is the cheapest way to defeat your enemies. Isaiah 30:29-31 (KJV) – (29) “Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.” (30) “And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.” (31) “For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.” Those who hear God never miss their steps, Gods guidance, that comes via praise covers all your errors, and multiplies your efforts. You can’t hear God until you are joyful, you cannot be joyful, until you are thankful, and you can’t be thankful until you are grateful.
• The joy of the Lord enhances our access to revelation, which in turn empowers us to access healing virtues. Psalms 16:11 (KJV) – “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Revelation, via praise, ultimately gives birth to restoration. Job 33:21-25 (KJV) – (21) “His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.” (22) “Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.” (23) “If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:” (24) “Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” (25) “His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth:” Every time revelation comes, restoration is born.

• Praise endues believers with strength, which empowers us for exploits. Psalms 100:4 (KJV) – “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” you need a level of brutality and ruggedity in your heart to be able to breakthrough oppositions. Psalms 84:7 (KJV) – “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” Strength enables you to pursue your goals and achieve it. You therefore need strength to push through adversities and adversaries. Daniel 11:32 (KJV) – “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Praise is connecting to divine strength, that makes you stand strong in the face of opposition . Ephesians 6:10-12 (KJV) (10) “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (11) “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

It is however important to note that the company you keep determines the countenance you carry. If you keep a sorrowful friend, you will soon become sorrowful. Beware who you call your friend , when it comes to the school of joy. Proverbs 27:17 (KJV) – “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Joy is one of the most contagious thing in life. 1Corinthians 15:33 (KJV) – “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” Beware of complains and murmurings, they complicate issues; therefore, take heed to the company you keep. Proverbs 13:20 (KJV) – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” If you want to protect your joy, mind the people you keep around you.