expand your praise language

a few weeks ago, in one of our sunday morning services, we had a guest speaker who really challenged me... the word he ministered was powerful, but there was one moment in the service that really stood out to me. he was just describing the Lord, and the words and phrases he used were so fresh and alive and new and i was so impacted and inspired hearing him.

you might be different, but i find that, for me, it's easy to get into a rut of always saying the same things to the Lord. whenever it's time to "sing a new song," i find myself singing the same things over and over... "i love You, Lord. i glorify Your Name. i say that You are worthy. You're an awesome God. You're a faithful God... hallelujah! hallelujah!"

understand, i MEAN what i'm saying... it's very genuine and very sincere... but in hearing this man of God use so many beautiful words and phrases, i was challenged to expand my praise language. to think of new things to say... or new ways to say them...or really understand what i've been saying all this time.

often we can say POWERFUL THINGS without really thinking (or maybe even knowing) what exactly we're saying... we don't take time to PONDER the POWER of our proclamations.

for example... the word "magnify." we say this a lot in worship. but do we really think about what it means? the definition is "to make great, or greater than; to amplify; to enlarge; to increase the importance of; to increase in significance; to maximize."

wow. so when we say, "i magnify You, Lord," THIS is what we're saying...

"Lord... in this moment of worship, i'm putting the focus on You. i am choosing to increase Your importance in my estimation... You are more important than the situations i'm facing right now. You're more significant than the bills. You are larger than those things. You are greater than the sickness i'm battling. i'm amplifying Your provision over my need. i'm maximizing Your power over every problem. You are bigger. You are greater. You are stronger. You are HUGE, God..."

another thing is the names of God... we often call Him Lord, God, Jesus, Master, Father, Father God, Holy, Worthy....

and again, they are all TRUE and GOOD and RIGHT...

but sometimes i need to remember that He is...

my Advocate (1 John 2:1)... i worship You today as my Advocate, Jesus! thank You for defending me from the opposition that has risen against me. thank You for representing me!

my Foundation (Isaiah 28:16)... Jesus, the winds of change and the storms of trial are blowing against me, but i can still REJOICE ("be glad, happy, jubilant, and celebrate") because You are my FOUNDATION... You are my ROCK (1 Corinthians 10:4) and You cannot be shaken... because i'm fixed on You, even I will not be shaken!!!

i want to challenge you to do the same... it'll make your praise so much more ALIVE!! involve your mind and consciously THINK about what you're saying to God when you sing a new song, or when you're just loving on Him... don't repeat the same phrases over and over simply because it's what you grew up hearing and it's just "what you say." even those phrases, take time to think through the POWER of what you're declaring.

simply saying, "dear Heavenly Father," when you start to pray...
did you hear what you just declared???

DEAR - "beloved, adored, cherished, precious, esteemed, close, intimate"
HEAVENLY - "not of this world, perfect"
FATHER - "a man who has continuous care of a child, esp. by adoption; a man who gives care and protection to someone or something"

because of the precious blood of Jesus, you now can call the Creator of stars and the Maker of galaxies your DAD!!! He's PERFECT... don't judge your Heavenly Father by your earthly experiences or human encounters. He will CONTINUOUSLY care for you, He's adopted you into His family, He'll protect You, He's intimately acquainted with you and your personality!! He's worthy of being adored and cherished and esteemed! He's a Father Who is CLOSE to you... not far off and uninvolved...

stop and THINK about the things you always say. and learn some new "love language" to tell Him!! it'll bring REVIVAL to your relationship with the Lord.

to start you off, i've copied and pasted what i've been using the past few days... i hope it helps you!

much love,
rebekah

(by the way... these are 100 different names/attributes of God (though there are more in Scripture)... if you spent just five minutes appreciating and thinking about each one, that would be almost 8 1/2 hours of praising different aspects of God!! or if you took one a day to focus on, you'd praise for about 3 months without repeating!!)

NAMES OF GOD

Advocate - 1 John 2:1
Almighty - Revelation 1:8
Author and Finisher of our Faith - Hebrews 12:2
Bread of Life - John 6:48
Bright and Morning Star - Revelation 22:16
Captain of The Lord's Army - Joshua 5:14
Captain of Salvation - Hebrews 2:10
Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4
Cornerstone - 1 Peter 2:6; Ephesians 2:20
Commander - Isaiah 55:4
Counselor - Isaiah 9:6
Deliverer - Romans 11:26
Desire of the Nations - Haggai 2:7
The Door - John 10:7
Emmanuel - Isaiah 7:14
Eternal Life - 1 John 5:20
Everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6
Faithful and True - Revelations 19:11
The Faithful Witness - Revelations 1:5
First and Last - Revelation 1:17
Foundation - Isaiah 28:16
Friend of sinners - Matther 11:19
Gift of God - John 4:10
God of the whole earth - Isaiah 45:15
God with us - Matthew 1:23
Good Master - Matthew 19:16
High Priest - Hebrews 4:14
Holy One - Psalms 16:10
Our Hope - 1 Timothy 1:1
I AM - John 8:58
Judge - Acts 10:42
Lamb of God - John 1:29
Leader - Isaiah 55:4
Everlasting Light - Isaiah 60:20
Light of the world - John 8:12
The Living Bread - John 6:51
The Living Stone - 1 Peter 2:4
The Lord of All - Acts 10:36
Lord of all Lords - Revelation 17:14
The Lord, mighty in battle - Paslms 24:8
Lord God Almighty - Revelation 15:3
The Lord of Glory - James 2:1
The Lord, Strong and Mighty - Psalms 24:8
The Lord, my Redeemer - Isaiah 43:14
Master - Matthew 23:8
The Only Mediator - 1 Timothy 2:5
Messiah - John 1:41
Mighty God - Isaiah 9:6
Mighty One of Israel - Isaiah 30:29
Mighty to save - Isaiah 63:1
Most mighty - Psalms 45:3
Only wise God - Jude 1:25
Physician - Matthew 9:12
Priest - Hebrews 7:17
Prince of Life - Acts 3:15
Propitiation (our sin-offering) - 1 John 2:2
Ransom - 1 Timonthy 2:6
The Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25
Our Redemption and Righteousness - 1 Corinthians 1:30
Righteous Servant - Isaiah 53:11
Rock - 1 Corinthians 10:4
Salvation - Luke 2:30
Sanctification - 1 Corinthians 1:30
Savior - Luke 2:11
Savior of the world - 1 John 4:14
Seed of David - 2 Timothy 2:8
Servant - Isaiah 42:1
Shepherd - Mark 14:27
Shepherd and Overseer of our souls - 1 Peter 2:25
Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4
Good Shepherd - John 10:11
Great Shepherd - Hebrews 13:20
Surety (Guarantee) - Hebrews 7:22
Teacher - John 3:2
True God - 1 John 5:20
True Vine - John 15:1
The Truth - John 14:6
Unspeakable Gift - 2 Corinthians 9:15
The Way - John 14:6
Wisdom - Proverbs 8:12
Witness - Revelation 1:5
Wonderful - Isaiah 9:6
The Word - John 1:1
Word of God - Revelation 19:13
Word of Life - 1 John 1:1


Adonai-Jehovah -- The Lord our Sovereign
El-Elyon -- The Lord Most High
El-Olam -- The Everlasting God
El-Shaddai -- The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People
Jehovah-Elohim -- The Eternal Creator
Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider
Jehovah-Nissi -- The Lord our Banner
Jehovah-Rapha -- The Lord our Healer
Jehovah-Shalom -- The Lord our Peace
Jehovah-M'Kaddesh -- The Lord our Sanctifier
Jehovah-Sabaoth -- The Lord of Hosts
Jehovah-Shammah -- The Lord is Present
Jehovah-Rohi -- The Lord our Shepherd
Jehovah-Hoseenu -- The Lord our Maker
Jehovah-Eloheenu -- The Lord our God