Prayer filled with praise

This post is from Chinese Christian Prayer Mountain (CCPM) conference in Genting Highlands on April 5 2009

Psalm 103:1 -- Bless the Lord, O my soul,and all that is within me,bless his holy name!

From this first verse, we are given a hint that the psalmist met hardship because, most of the time, psalmist do praise God even in hardship and that is one virtue we must learn from.
But, why in prayer should we have praise and worship?
Psalm 22:1-3 says:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy,enthroned on the praises of Israel.

Ps 22:3 says "Yet you are holy,enthroned on the praises of Israel."

Let us praise and worship God and pray until God establish His throne not only in our lives but also in the area we live in. Where his throne is established we will feel His presence, His peace, His power working. =)

Below is an example of the Shilach Paul and his companion Silas praising and worshipping God in the midst of their suffering:
Acts 16:25-28--About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

Praise and worship can cause amazing miracles to take place!

But to pray and have it filled with praise and worship we must have faith.. we must worship in Spirit and in truth.

Psalm 11:3-- In the Lord I take refuge ; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain..."
Romans 8:9-- You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

When we praise and worship God we can repeat on and on until His joy enters into our hearts and becomes our strength. Soon, God's throne will be set in our hearts as we continue in praise and worship and our lives will be directed by God Himself. =)

Psalm 103:1b--...and all that is within me,bless his holy name!

We have to worship and praise God with all of our inward being.
The only way is by obeying the greatest command which is
וְאָהַבְתָּ, אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Dt6:5)

Let us worship God throughout our lives. May our live be a pleasing sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him.

Blessings be with you all in Christ Jesus!