ACTIVATING THE POWER THROUGH PRAISE Theme Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 20:21-23 In the last three weeks we have had series of meetings with our man of God, Pastor Chris where he taught about the importance of praising the Lord. In the last communion service Pastor declared the month of July as the Month of praise and gave us scriptures to back the fact that victories occur when we praise the Lord. In this week’s bible study we shall be doing a study on how to praise the Lord. 1. The Fruit of our Lips: (Hebrews 13:15) The Bible admonishes that we should offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit our lips giving thanks to his name. This means that we should continually make confessions and declarations with our lips to or in the name of the Lord. Making confessions and declarations in His name, means we speak the same thing in consent, by saying what he has said( Hebs 13:5) 2. When the children of Judah in 2Chorincle 20:22 faced the opposition, they did so singing praises to God and making confessions and declarations in His name. As they did this, their enemies were smitten before their faces. In Acts 25:5, God wrought a great deliverance on behalf of Paul and Silas, as they sang and praised Him in prison 2. Lifting up Holy hands in Praise( Psalm 134:2): Lifting up Holy hands is an act of worship to the Lord, the Bible says, ‘… let the lifting up of my hand be like the evening sacrifice(Psalm 141:2b), (Scripture References Psalm 63:4, I Timothy 2:8, Psalm 28:2) 3. Shout to Lord in Praise: (Psalm 98:4) Shouting to the Lord is one of the ways we praise him. The Bible says to shout to the Lord and make known His wondrous deeds to all generation. The Bible gives us an account of how the children of Israel brought down the walls of Jericho through shouting. God gave the children of Jericho a strategy on how they could bring down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:5).They followed God’s strategy and brought down the walls of Jericho. One of the ways of bringing down the walls of limitations and barriers in your life is by shouting to the Lord. You activate the power of God when you shout to the Lord. 4. Praising the Lord with Instruments: (Psalm 92:3, Psalm 144:9, Psalm 150:4,). In psalm 150:4, the psalmist said we should praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet, the harps and the psaltery, praise him with the timbrel and dance, praise him with stringed instruments and organs…. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 5. Praise the Lord with a Dance: (Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4) The Bible records how David danced before the Lord in worship (2 Samuel 6:14), as he offered up sacrifices to the Lord because of the successful return of the Ark of the Covenant to the land of Israel. David so leaped and danced before the Lord that His wife despised him, because he danced in an undignified manner( 2 Sam 6:16, 2 Sam 6:20) In Conclusion In this Month of Praise, you will praise the Lord in singing, in lifting up of your hands, in shouting and in dancing. You will praise Him in tongues and in your understanding (1 Corinthians 14: 14), You will sing aloud to Him upon your bed and His high praises will be upon your lips(Psalm 149: 5-6), hallelujah! You will speak to Him in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs of worship, you will sing and make melody in your heart to Him (Eph. 5:18-19). As you do these, you will activate His power in your life and change unfavourables circumstances. Hallelujah!