The Effects of Praise Part 4

In order to recognize Satan and his devices, we need to understand that he is totally dominated by self-centeredness. He wants everything for himself. Anything that draws people's attention away from G.o.d is a device of the devil. It doesn't always have to be something we call outright sin. He's not always going to get people to wors.h.i.+p him directly, but he can get them not to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d if they don't know his schemes.

The best offense against the ways of the enemy is to give people knowledge. Knowledge is power. When we begin to understand how Satan attacks us and how he operates, we can deal with those areas.

The Devices Of The Enemy I could write a very lengthy list of all the devices of the enemy, but suffice it to say that every single trick Satan has for believers is designed to keep us from praising and wors.h.i.+ping G.o.d. He sees the power that it releases in our lives. He certainly doesn't want us to prosper and be in good health. Most importantly, he doesn't want the Lord to be wors.h.i.+ped. If he can get us to stop praising G.o.d, we have taken a step toward the devil. When we are praising G.o.d, we are defeating the plans of the devil and fulfilling the purpose of our creation.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Satan goes about seeking whom he may devour. He would love to devour everyone, but he can't. He has to seek people who will allow him to devour them. I don't believe anyone intentionally says, "Yes, I want to be one of the people that Satan ruins." But because of bad decisions, one of which is a decision not to praise G.o.d, we give Satan an inroad into our lives. It's just like dropping our guard when we're in a fight. We allow Satan to take free punches at us.

Perception Or Deception?

We give Satan too much credit. Satan does not have spiritual perception. He can't understand spiritual things, but he is a master of deception. He understands natural things in the carnal realm. He can beat anyone in the natural realm, but when it comes to operating in the spirit realm, he can't compete.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of G.o.d in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which G.o.d ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Corinthians 2:6-8 If the scribes and Pharisees who were in opposition to the Lord would have had any spiritual perception and wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Jesus prophesied many times that He would die and be resurrected on the third day. He even prophesied the method of His death. If they would have had any spiritual perception, they would have killed Him any other way than on a cross. In fact, they would have done anything except kill Jesus, because He had prophesied His death and His triumph over it.

Satan was the driving force that motivated these people to come against Jesus, and Satan is the one who caused them to crucify Him. If they had operated in any form of spiritual understanding, they would have never crucified Him. Yet Satan went ahead and fulfilled everything G.o.d had intended. He played right into the hand of G.o.d when he crucified Jesus.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of G.o.d: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14 A person without the Spirit of G.o.d cannot really receive spiritual truth. Satan is without the Spirit of G.o.d. Satan is spiritually stupid. Even though the book of Revelation so clearly prophesies the punishment and defeat of Satan, he cannot comprehend it. He cannot believe that what G.o.d has said is true; therefore he'll play right into the hand of the Lord.

The Results Of Intercession Old Testament intercession is very different from New Testament intercession. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice hadn't been made yet. In the New Testament, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has been made. It's a simple matter of taking the victory that has already been purchased and executing it.

I don't believe spiritual warfare has to make a person look beat down, depressed, sad, and discouraged. That's not what spiritual warfare or intercession is all about.

In the Old Testament, there was actually a pleading with G.o.d. In Exodus 32:9-12, Moses asked G.o.d to repent and not bring His wrath upon the Israelites for making and wors.h.i.+ping the golden calf. Also, a kind of bartering went on between Abraham and G.o.d over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:23-33). Those kinds of things don't work in the New Testament. That is not the type of intercession we are to have.

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.

Galatians 4:19 Paul speaks of travailing in the spirit, but it has been so blown out of proportion. I believe one of the things that would put the New Testament ministry of intercession and spiritual warfare back in its proper balance is if we started operating in praise. Praise will blind the devil and drive him away quicker than anything else we can do. When intercessors operate in praise, they are going to focus their attention on the Answer instead of the problem. They're going to wind up spending their time with G.o.d instead of the devil.

Spending Too Much Time With The Devil When I got really excited for the Lord back in 1968 and began casting demons out of people, it was amazing to me that some of the things I had always considered normal weren't so normal-some behaviors actually had demonic spirits behind them. That immediately got my attention, and I started seeing a demon on every doork.n.o.b! I remember every time someone had a twitch or a cough, I'd think it must be a demon. I got to where I would spend one to two hours a day binding this spirit, binding that spirit, praying against the devil, and so on.

G.o.d understood my heart. I believe G.o.d is just like a natural father. We see our children go through things that may be out of balance, but that's just part of learning. We don't get upset with them, but we correct them and teach them the proper way.

During that period, I had some great times with the Lord, but I probably had more demonic problems than I should have-not necessarily something on the inside of me, but Satan attacked me more then than any time since. I know two or three occasions where I physically fought some demonic forces. I couldn't see them, but they were grabbing me around the throat and choking me. There were times I would wake up from a dream and just be terrified and think It was only a dream, but then I would find myself actually bleeding from something that happened to me.

In 1971, I tried to open a halfway house where I could take in addicts and minister to them. I rented a large house that had been a fraternity house, and it was infested with demons. I was there by myself late one night when I was physically attacked by a number of demons. I fought until there was victory, but it was not a pleasant experience!

I know Satan is real. But I am convinced that one of the reasons I was being attacked like that was because I was spending so much time thinking about the devil. I was trying to resist him, but my attention was so much on the devil that I was more aware of Satan's power than I was of G.o.d's power.

Finally, the Lord began to bring me out of this. I realized the error of my ways and decided it had to stop. I began to think, I don't have to spend all my time rebuking and casting down every possible thing that could come against me. If I would just begin to praise G.o.d and walk with Him... The best defense is a good offense. If I'm in communion with G.o.d, that will automatically stop a lot of the attacks of the devil. As I began to implement that in my life, I saw a change in my spiritual warfare.

I still see demons cast out. Sometimes, the Lord will give me a word of knowledge over someone I am praying for, and the demons will come out screaming, kicking, and yelling. But I don't spend hardly any time talking to the devil, because I have learned that praise is strength to still the enemy and the avenger.

As I keep my communion with G.o.d, as I wors.h.i.+p and praise Him, as I keep my att.i.tude straight and my mind stayed upon the Lord and His Word, the Lord keeps me in perfect peace. That is my immunization against the devil. Since those early years of my walk with the Lord, I am seeing more victories over the devil with less effort. I depend on praise and wors.h.i.+p to G.o.d as my weapon that stills the enemy, and it's been decades since I have had any manifestation of Satan physically attacking me.

Praise is a powerful weapon. In the midst of all of the spiritual warfare teaching, we need to give preeminence to praise. A lot of people would be better off if they spent less time talking to the devil and much more time praising G.o.d for who He is. If they would praise G.o.d for the positive, they wouldn't have to spend so much time on the negative.

Satan Knows He Is Defeated Satan knows his days are numbered, so he is trying his best to thwart the plans of G.o.d for people's lives.

Personally, I believe that's the reason Christmas has been compromised as a Christian holiday. Satan has subst.i.tuted a big, jolly man in a bright red suit for the Lord Jesus. He is trying to draw people away from the true wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d. However, even with all of its commercialization, Christmas has impacted the secular world to such a degree that during the holidays, I can walk into a department store that normally is playing secular music and hear songs like "Joy to the World" and others that glorify G.o.d.

People who don't think about G.o.d any other time of the year are bombarded with the Gospel during the Christmas season. I get excited about that, and I realize that Satan can't stand it. He may be successful with a few a people, but overall, he knows he's already defeated.

Thanksgiving in the United States is one of the G.o.dliest holidays we have, because it is a day that was set aside for nothing but thanksgiving and praise toward G.o.d for the abundance of things. It is what I call a pure holiday. Yet it has nearly been pa.s.sed over with all the other things, such as football games and the after-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas sales. We need to be aware of Satan's devices, which may seem so innocent, and purpose in our hearts and minds to stay in an att.i.tude of praise.

Satan Cannot Stand Praise Satan was the demonic spiritual power behind the king of Babylon. In Isaiah 14, talking about the demise of Satan, Isaiah speaks this parable against the king of Babylon: How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

h.e.l.l from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

How are thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of G.o.d: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Isaiah 14:4-14 The only time Satan is called Lucifer in the Bible is in Isaiah 14:12. The Scripture clearly gives us the intent of Lucifer's heart when he transgressed and rebelled against G.o.d. If we really think about what the motives were in Satan's rebellion, it could totally change our impression about Satan.

Most people think Satan is a total pervert, that he glories in all the things G.o.d hates. But Isaiah 14:12-14 shows us just the opposite. Satan actually loved all the things G.o.d had-the praise, the wors.h.i.+p, the glory, and the honor. Satan's sin was not hating everything G.o.d liked; rather, he coveted the things of G.o.d. Satan wanted to "be like the most High."

Satan's real sin was jealousy of G.o.d. Ezekiel 28:14 says he was "the anointed cherub that covereth." Cherubim are angelic beings who were placed over the mercy seat to protect the Holy of Holies (Ex. 25:19). So Satan was a created being, an angelic being of G.o.d. He was the "anointed cherub that covereth." That was a high position. Some people speculate that he was an archangel, the position that the angel Michael now holds (Jude 9). That would mean he was in charge of all the other angels. He wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted the glory, the honor, and the praise that went to G.o.d alone. That was his transgression.

I will grant that Satan is the author of all perversion and everything that is anti-G.o.d. But I believe the reason he pulls people in that direction is that he's trying to draw them away from G.o.d. He is insanely jealous of G.o.d, and that gives us a better understanding of why praise to G.o.d is strength to still the enemy.

Many people also think Satan was anointed in the area of music. He wanted for himself all the praise, the wors.h.i.+p, and the music that was going up to G.o.d by the angelic beings, so G.o.d overthrew him. To this day, Satan is driven by jealousy.

What Praise Does To Satan When we praise and wors.h.i.+p G.o.d, it reminds Satan of his defeat. Praise to G.o.d torments him, so much that he even tried to get Jesus to wors.h.i.+p him. When Satan came against Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus was just beginning His ministry. Satan presented Jesus with three temptations, one of which was material gain to try to get Jesus to wors.h.i.+p him.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and wors.h.i.+p me.

Matthew 4:8-9 Satan does the same thing to us today. He tempts us with material gain to try to get us to wors.h.i.+p anything but G.o.d.

This goes back to the very heart of what I've said-Satan has always desired the wors.h.i.+p that was intended and reserved for G.o.d alone. This shows how important the area of praise is to Satan. Satan told Jesus he would give up everything he had in exchange for the praise reserved for G.o.d alone. He was and is a fanatic about this! He is totally crazy.

But Satan is not stupid.! He is an enemy to be reckoned with. We can't take him lightly-he's been at this for thousands of years. However, his extreme jealousy has totally perverted his thinking, and anytime a person begins to praise G.o.d, Satan cannot handle it. Satan cannot stand praise to G.o.d.

The next time you find yourself being tempted to sin, being attacked, or facing some problem, lift your voice to heaven and start praising G.o.d. I guarantee you that not only will you feel the peace of G.o.d come upon you, but you will know the devil is defeated in whatever area you're doing battle. In reality, you are just being a doer of the Word.

Submit yourselves therefore to G.o.d. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 The Key To Victory I went to Rome right out of high school, and I remember reading accounts of the Christians who were burned at the stake and thrown to the lions in the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum in Rome. There are actual reports of emperors who stuck their fingers in their ears and screamed out, "Why do these Christians sing as we kill them?" It was reported that Christians would wors.h.i.+p and praise G.o.d even in the very last stages of death, and the emperors couldn't handle it. People are afraid of what they can't understand, and I believe the devil has the same reaction. If you want to torment the devil, start praising G.o.d. It will drive him away. If you want to confuse the devil, start praising G.o.d.

Let the high praises of G.o.d be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their n.o.bles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 149:6-9 Praise and the Word of G.o.d coupled together is how we execute vengeance and judgment upon our enemy, the devil. These warriors had two-edged swords in their hands, which is the Word, but they had high praises of G.o.d on their lips. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with. This is available to all believers.

Don't wait for your circ.u.mstances to change before you praise G.o.d. Praising G.o.d will make your circ.u.mstances change. Your praise terrorizes the enemy. It paralyzes Satan. It neutralizes his power in your life!

CHAPTER 9.

HOW PRAISE AFFECTS G.o.d.

We've looked at how praise affects us and how praise affects Satan, but I believe the way praise affects G.o.d is the most important. I know that's a relatively subjective statement, because it depends on where you are. If you're in hand-to-hand combat with the devil, it might be more important for you to learn how praise is strength against the enemy. If you're tormented in your mind and you're struggling with different issues, you might feel that it's more important to know how praise affects the individual. But as far as taking all of these things and listing them according to significance, I believe how praise affects G.o.d makes the top of the list.

Ministering To G.o.d Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Acts 13:1-2 Many times, we skim this verse and focus on the results.

We talk about how this was the beginning of Paul's ministry and how literally hundreds of thousands of people were affected in his lifetime. Then we look to his leaders.h.i.+p and at the books he left behind. He wrote about half of the New Testament! Paul affected the world forever.

When the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul, this was a very pivotal time in the history of the church. However, here is an awesome statement we usually don't notice: "As they ministered to the Lord" (Acts 13:2). Now the first time I really read this, that word ministered jumped out at me. I just sat back and was amazed. I thought, How do we minister to the Lord? I thought ministering meant preaching or teaching, or it could be serving or doing something for others. But how can we minister to the Lord? How are we to serve Him in that way?

I knew one way of ministering to the Lord was by ministering to other people. Peter's mother-in-law had a fever (Matt. 8:14). Jesus went into their house, touched her hand, and the fever left her. It says then that she "ministered unto them" (Matt. 8:15). It's very clear that she did some of the household duties the women of those days would do: she took their coats, washed their feet, fixed food for them, etc. That's ministry. I'm not minimizing that at all, but that was the only concept of ministry to others I had.

In Acts 13:1-2, it's very clear that these people were fasting and praying and ministering to the Lord. They weren't out serving other people, praying for the sick, or witnessing to the lost. They had come together for the purpose of separating themselves and seeking G.o.d. They were there wors.h.i.+ping the Lord. They were glorifying G.o.d. As I began to see this, all of a sudden I realized that G.o.d desires ministry.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying there is lack or inadequacy in G.o.d. G.o.d is complete. He is selfcontained. If none of us existed, He would still be allsufficient.

He that loveth not knoweth not G.o.d; for G.o.d is love. 1 John 4:8 We must look at it through the perspective that G.o.d is love. Any people who love not only have a desire to show that love, but they also have a desire to have love returned unto them. G.o.d not only loves us, but He has a need in the sense that He desires us to love Him. That is the way it's supposed to be.

It isn't inconceivable that Someone who loved us enough to send His Son to suffer shame and die for us could also get blessed when we tell Him that we love Him. An old religious att.i.tude tells us we're so unworthy that we can't bless G.o.d, and the only thing we can do is serve Him as an unworthy slave. That's not so! G.o.d changed us. We are now the righteousness of G.o.d in Christ, and He desires our love.

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:6 This is what was behind the creation of man in the first place. Earlier in the book, we brought out the point that praise and wors.h.i.+p are filling heaven right now. The Bible also says that G.o.d has created all things for His pleasure (Rev. 4:10-11). The original purpose for creation and still His purpose for creation today is that-His pleasure. Everything was created for His pleasure. But we get so service oriented, thinking What does this accomplish? Who is this going to touch? that many times we forget that if it blesses G.o.d and ministers unto Him, it doesn't necessarily have to be touching someone else.

An example of this came when I went on vacation with my family in the Colorado mountains. We like to go where other people don't go. We don't like to go to the big cities. For me, a vacation means getting away and having time with just my family.

We drove as far as we could on this dirt road. Then we got out and walked as far as the trail went. Then we just took out on our own. We were up somewhere around 12,000 feet, and as we came over one of the mountains, we looked down and saw this lake. It was a beautiful lake, with the mountains all around, and beside this lake was a meadow. Now, in the mountains, the growing season is short, but we happened to hit it just perfectly.

We saw some of the most beautiful wildflowers I'd ever seen-some of them four and five feet tall. I had never seen anything like them before, and as I was standing there looking at all of this, I was just amazed. I began to think about G.o.d. I thought, This is amazing! This is awesome! The effort You put into this little spot-all of these flowers. Man, in all of his great wisdom and technology, couldn't reproduce one of these flowers- even if all the scientists combined their efforts-and there were thousands and thousands of these flowers. The thought also occurred to me that in just a week or so, they would all be gone. There was a very good possibility that no one but us would see these flowers, because I didn't know if anyone else had ever been up there.

As I was thinking about all this, I said to Jamie, "Isn't this awesome, that the Lord went to all of this effort? As far as we know, we're the only people who have come this direction and have seen this. G.o.d went to all of that effort just for us." And I believe that G.o.d would do something like that!

Jamie then quoted Revelation 4:11 to me, "For thy pleasure they are and were created." She said, "It wouldn't have mattered if anybody would have seen it. G.o.d got pleasure out of these things that He's made." And all of a sudden, it really sank in. This was the same thing the Lord had been showing me-G.o.d gets blessed from His creation!

G.o.d desires to receive pleasure from the things He created and made. In my mind, I thought, Who did He do this for? There has to be some person this would minister to. There has to be some value to it. G.o.d wouldn't put all of this effort into something for no one to see. But that's wrong thinking, because G.o.d got pleasure out of it.

Many times, when it comes to our relations.h.i.+p with the Lord, we do the same thing. We think the only way we can minister unto G.o.d is by serving Him through touching other people's lives, by working in a church, witnessing to people, or praying and interceding on behalf of others. Now, that does minister unto the Lord, and I am not minimizing that. I am saying that another area of ministering unto the Lord most Christians have not seen is that G.o.d created us for His pleasure.

Being Intimate With G.o.d G.o.d loves us. He wants our praise and wors.h.i.+p. Praise ministers unto Him. Praise blesses G.o.d. If praise had no other benefit, then that would be reason enough to praise Him. G.o.d has given us everything. He literally bankrupted heaven. He took the most precious thing heaven had, the Lord Jesus, and sent Him to this earth to redeem us. He did all of these things for us, and G.o.d longs and desires for us to praise and wors.h.i.+p Him.

I married my wife, Jamie, because I loved her. When I proposed to her, I said, "Jamie, I want you to share the rest of my life with me." I wanted her to share everything with me. Jamie is an excellent wife. She cooks, cleans the house, washes the clothes, and does a lot to take care of our home. She runs a tight s.h.i.+p around our house. She is a perfectionist at organization. She even alphabetizes her spices! But she balances me, because I'm not that way at all.

If anything is misplaced in our house, all I have to do is sit down and think, Now what is the logical thing to do? Where would this be if it was in its proper place? I think about what Jamie would do with it and go find it. She is just as predictable as she can be.

We live way up on a mountain, and our shoes get really dirty; we have an entryway in the house where she asks us to take our shoes off. I have to be honest and admit I don't always do it, but I appreciate the fact that she is trying to keep our house clean and make it a comfortable place to live. That adds to our marriage!

However, if it ever got to a place where she was more concerned about external things than our personal relations.h.i.+p, those very things she does would cease to minister and be a blessing to me. It would get to where I would hate them. If she yelled, "Take off your shoes or don't come into this house!" every time I forgot, and was more concerned about the carpet than she was about me, that would not bless me. It wouldn't minister unto me.

I can go out and hire a cook. I can hire someone to clean my house. If all I wanted was service, I could have done it without getting married. That's not what marriage is all about. That is not the focus of marriage. You cannot build a marriage based on a clean house, clean dishes, and clean clothes. Marriage is about relations.h.i.+p, and praise G.o.d, Jamie is a tremendous blessing to me. Because her first priority is intimacy with me, everything else she does for me becomes a blessing.

It's the same thing in our relations.h.i.+p with the Lord. Yes, G.o.d wants us to serve Him through ministering to other people, through praying for them, and doing good things for others. But that is not a subst.i.tute for our personal relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d. I feel that in most cases, Christians don't think they really have anything personal to give to G.o.d except their service. When most people come to the Lord, they have the att.i.tude, "G.o.d, I'm the one in need. You have no need whatsoever." It's a mentality of being totally needy.

We do have needs. We are the ones with all the failures and faults in our lives. But it is not totally accurate to see G.o.d as having no need, thinking there is nothing we can do for Him except serve. G.o.d needs us. He desires us. And we can minister unto Him-not through preaching at Him, not through just doing something for Him, but through loving Him directly. That ministers unto G.o.d.

To think that my net worth to G.o.d is what I can do for Him or how well I perform is missing what salvation is all about. G.o.d isn't just using us as tools to reach others, to reconcile the world to Himself, or to ama.s.s great numbers of followers. I believe that the Lord would have died for me if I was the only person on the face of the earth. I believe He would have made an atonement for me if I had no one else to minister to and nothing to accomplish for Him. G.o.d just loves me, and He wants my praise and wors.h.i.+p in return.

What G.o.d Really Wants From Us I think some people believe G.o.d felt obligated to save us: He was our Creator, and things got so messed up that He had to provide a way out for us. They call that obligation love. They quote John 3:16, "G.o.d so loved the world," and when it comes to applying it to their lives, they don't see it as G.o.d's pa.s.sionate love for them. They see it more as pity. And now that their sins are forgiven, the only thing they can do is pay their debt. They've got to go out and serve G.o.d, do this and do that, and offer G.o.d all of the things they've done. They think that pleases Him.

Of course, I'm not saying it doesn't please G.o.d to serve Him, but it doesn't please G.o.d if we subst.i.tute things for ourselves. G.o.d wants us. Praise is giving of ourselves to G.o.d-expressing our love and wors.h.i.+p to Him. That ministers to G.o.d. We can do things for the Lord, but we can do nothing for Him until we have first given ourselves unto Him. We have given G.o.d everything but ourselves.

But G.o.d wants us. He longs for us to love Him. This is really the most important aspect of praise. As we give of ourselves, everything else will fall into place.

Going back to the comparison I gave about my wife and her serving me, that's not the reason I married her. I married her for a relations.h.i.+p. If she got to where she exalted the service over me, the very things that now bless me would actually repulse me. That's exactly what G.o.d expressed in the Old Testament.

G.o.d commanded that sacrifices be offered. He commanded the people to follow Him through all of the solemn feasts, the feast of tabernacles, the day of atonement, and all of the different rituals. Yet, in Isaiah 1, we find that G.o.d's people had become rebellious-their hearts had turned away from the Lord, and all they offered was just a ritual. They had no heart for G.o.d. They were just going through the motions, and their hearts were separated from G.o.d.

"The mult.i.tude of your sacrifices-what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!"

Isaiah 1:11-13, NIV Those were things that G.o.d commanded. They were right things to do, but the Lord was saying, "I don't want your service. Those were just expressions, pictures, types, and examples of what should be reflected in your hearts. If you aren't going to give Me your hearts, then away with this other stuff." I believe G.o.d could look down at much of our religious observance today and see a similar picture. People are going to church, paying their t.i.thes, living holy, and doing all of these things, yet G.o.d is not pleased because He doesn't have their hearts.

G.o.d loves you, personally. G.o.d longs for you to have personal, intimate communion with Him.