Gleanings for January 5

Prayer of Worship & Praise

Isaiah 12: 1 -6 the New Berkeley Translation: “In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and not be afraid, for JEHOVAH, THE LORD, is my strength and my song; yes He has become my salvation.”

“With joy therefore, will you draw water from the fountains of salvation, and you will say in that day, “Give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name! Make known His doings among the nations. Proclaim that His name is exalted!

“Sing to the Lord, for He has wrought glorious miracles; let this become known through all the earth. Cry out and shout joyfully, you residents of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

For the prayer of “Worship and Praise”, we could have chosen any number of scripture verses. The book of Isaiah is especially precious to me so I chose a favorite verse from that book. I believe we can find many of the ingredients that will help us have true “worship and praise.”

It begins with “thanksgiving” even though the author felt like God had been angry with him; he knew God well enough and was sure that “comfort” was ready and waiting for him to receive as he went to the Lord in prayer. His salvation was also acknowledged, along with a confidence that he could TOTALLY rely on his God because HE was (in Hebrew, YAH) JEHOVAH, THE LORD, in WHOM, he put his trust. Jehovah was his “strength and his song.”

Notice next, it was “with JOY’ that refreshing was to be part of his life. Along with his joy, more “thanks” broke forth from the writer’s pen. Then it was time to share the wonders of the “personal God,” Who was being addressed, making certain that the Name of the Lord was being EXALTED.

The author ends this chapter by bringing out more ways to express worship and praise: he mentions: “SING, CRY OUT, SHOUT JOYFULLY” in order to “let (the wonders of God) be known through all the earth.”

There can be no doubt about “TO WHOM” the worship and praise of Isaiah was being directed! This should be a good example for us in our private time and also in the corporate times of worship. It is very easy for us to center on “ministering to one another” when Christians meet together. That is important, but “ministering to THE LORD” should be our number ONE priority. As we put HIM first in everything we do, our ministry for one another will become even more fruitful.

Meditate on Isaiah the 12^th Chapter today---as you WORSHIP and PRAISE the Lord you will find:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!