Praise and Prayer

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

—Exodus 15:1-2 (NLT)

Moses and the Israelites praised the Lord for His deliverance from Pharaoh!  The Egyptians, who were chasing them, were no more!  God had hurled each horse and rider into the sea! The Lord was their strength and had given them absolute victory!  Their God was also the amazing God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They praised Him for their miracle. They exalted Him for His promise.

Here we are now—in the midst of our own Red Sea. Our God is still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also Moses! But He is more than that! His Son—our Savior, Jesus, has defeated sin and disease on the Cross. He has opened the windows of heaven. God is no longer just our father's God!  Because of Jesus' grace, He is also our Father. We can go to Him with anything. No longer the judge of His children, He is the lover of our souls. We pray in faith, believing, and we praise Him for His faithfulness! The Red Sea that appears before us shall be no more.

Praise is synonymous with strength and is born of trust in our Father, whom we believe takes care of every aspect of life. We face our Red Seas, believing that He has already met our needs. Even now, when we don’t see His provision taking place, we believe because we trust our Savior, who has opened the door to all the resources of our heavenly Father. Prayer then becomes asking from strength instead of begging in fear. We pray knowing He hears our prayers and gives us the authority to speak hope instead of despair and to speak life instead of death. We praise our Father that we can speak to this mountain, and He who loves us so much will move it. 

“It is impossible to please God without faith,” the writer to the Hebrews penned. “Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, NLT). Faith pleases our Father. Seek His Truth. Trust Him. Pray to Him, believing! We don’t have to beg for our Father’s answer. Praise Him that He gave us His answer on Calvary. It is done. The work is finished.

“I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers” (Isaiah 65:24)! And He has answered our prayers! Jesus, His Son, is our final resolution for healing and life. He has given us His righteousness. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16, NLT)!  We don’t need to be talking about our needs. We need to be talking about our answer. 

Prayer changes us. Praise moves the heart of God.

© 2020 Lynn Lacher

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