When Praise & Prayer Collide

There is a testimony I heard many years ago that I love revisiting time and again. I first read it in a book by Kenneth E. Hagin.

In the book he tells a story of a woman he once met who had been believing God for healing. This woman had prayed for many months and as it went into years, she asked God what the delay was concerning her healing. She knew she was healed by the stripes of Jesus therefore she knew something was missing. She was also convinced that God would show her what was hindering her healing.

One night the Lord gave her a vision. He showed her a piece of paper with two columns. One column was titled, Prayer, and the second was titled, Praise. On the prayer column it was completely full, filled in all the way to the bottom. Yet in the praise column it only had a few lines filled in.

God told her that this is what she had been doing, much praying but little praise for her healing. God told her that when her praise equaled her prayer, healing would come.

I thought that was a powerful statement – when your praise equals your prayers. It is something God often reminds me of, as He did today.

Of course, she began to praise God for her healing more and more until she was walking in divine health.

This is one of many testimonies I have come across concerning the power of praise.

I once read about a lady who had gone up for prayer hundreds of times. One time a man of God started to pray for her and stopped.

“You have been prayed for many times.” He said.

“Yes.” She responded.

His response to her was a response of instruction. He said, “Every time you feel a pain, I want you to praise God for your healing, don’t pray, praise.” She began to do this and before she even realized it, her healing had manifested.

There is great power in praise!

Prayer is indeed important – God hears our prayers. God hears our prayers, yet He inhabits our praise.

I am reminded of the book of Acts, chapter 16, where Paul and Silas were in prison. The Bible says they prayed and then they sang praises to God. When they began to praise and sing to God the prison doors opened.

It’s important to see that they did not only pray – but they added praise to their prayers.

God inhabits our praises. That means He dwells, lives, and makes His abode in our praises.

Where God dwells, His promises manifest. When God shows up, things change. When God is present the enemy flees and Gods Word manifests right before our eyes, we see it time after time in the Bible.

As I was meditating on this over the weekend, my mind went to those of you who wrote to me and tell me that you have been standing in faith for a long time for healing or debt freedom or even for your children. My question to you today is this; does your praise equal your prayers?

Have you taken time to praise God for your healing? Have you praised God for your freedom from debt? Have you praised God for your children?

Many people mistakenly believe we can’t possibly praise God until we see it is done – that’s not true. True faith, true trust in God and His Word will praise Him before it is seen with the natural eyes.

Today, I am thinking about the walls of Jericho that came down with a shout of praise. What walls do you need to fall in your life? May I suggest you spend time praising God? Today, determine in your heart that from this day forth, My Praise Will Indeed Equal My Prayers.