In part one of this series, we examined our first acronym for P.U.S.H - ‘Pray Until Something Happens’. In this part, we will discuss another aspect of P.U.S.H, which is, “Praise Until Something Happens”.
As I was thinking about this, I thought about the process of driving a car. First, you have to switch on the engine whether it’s with a key, button or even your voice. Turning the engine on is however not enough to take you to where you are going. Unless you engage the accelerator, you will remain in one place.
It’s not a perfect analogy but it helped me picture the relationship between prayer and praise. With prayer, we present our request by faith. Between when we present that prayer and when we receive the response to that prayer, what should we be doing? Do we just keep on asking over and over again or just stop praying altogether and just hope something happens? I believe this is where praise comes in.
The Lord made a remark in Mark 11:24 about what our attitude should be when we have prayed, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. “ ‘To believe’ is not just like a light switch that you turn on and off. It is a process and I believe that process goes like this, “Praise Until Something Happens”.
The children of Israel came up to the walls of Jericho, relying on God’s promise to deliver the city to them. God could have commanded one of His angels to pull down the walls within seconds but I believe He wanted the children to experience the power of praise. God gave specific instructions to Joshua, “March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” (Joshua 6:3-5)
I can imagine if such an instruction were given today, people would grumble and wonder why they should be going round in circles. The children of Israel however obeyed and the seventh day, both they and the people of Jericho witnessed the awesome power of God as the walls came tumbling down without any effort on the part of the Israelite army. Praise is indeed powerful.
David is a great example of someone who praised until something happened. David was anointed as king when he was a teenager. We are not told exactly how old he was but the scriptures gave us clues as to how old he might have been. When he decided to fight Goliath, Saul told him, “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” (2 Samual 17:33) David could not have been more than 15 at the time, meaning that he didn’t become king until about 15 years later.
Between the anointing and the actual manifestation of God’s promise, David continued to praise God and this is evident from the many Psalms that were credited to him.
Praising until something happens is a powerful weapon. It not only acknowledges God’s ability answer our prayers but it also reminds us of who He is and what He has done. This in turn fuels our faith and trust in Him. While prayer ignites our trust in God for something, praise is what keeps the engine of faith going. It drowns out the voice of fear and doubt. It puts us in a place of expectation as we are reminded of how great God is.
Are you praying for something and have got to the point where you are thinking of giving up? Praise God in words and in songs. If you can’t think of the words to say, read the Psalms, they are full of writings praising God. Make the words yours as you lift up the name of the Lord. Listen to worship songs and sing along and watch as faith rises up in your heart.
As you praise until something happens, remember, just because it hasn’t happened yet, does not mean it won’t happen.
