I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Psalm 34:1 (NKJV) David made a point of praising God—not just occasionally, but all the time. You might think, “That’s easy for him. He was one of the greatest kings who ever lived.” But if you follow his story, you’ll find that David experienced a lot of problems. He went from facing a giant to hiding from a murderous king in the wilderness. He dealt with rejection, betrayal and loss. He even went so far as to say, “Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head” (Psalm 69:4, …

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5 (NKJV) Praising God is easy when everything is going right. But when things aren’t happening the way you expected—when there are tears in your eyes, pain in your body or your marriage is falling apart—what then? David’s response in times of trouble was to praise God. David would ask himself, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?” But he didn’t stop there. He went on to declare, “I will put my hope in God. I will praise Him again” (Psalm 43:5, NLT). People say things like, “under the …

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 (NLT) Praising God is an act of war. It pushes back on sickness, debt, despair and every negative thing coming against you. As you passionately declare who God is and what He’s already done for you, you release the miraculous into your life. I’ve discovered that the more I praise God, the more I want to spend time with Him and the more I’m aware of His presence and power in my life. In times when problems are pushing at me, I’ve found that I need to go somewhere by myself and declare, “God, You are good. You make me an overcomer. I’m going …

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He…heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth. Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV) One of my earliest childhood memories is the time I followed my dad as he carried beehives across a muddy field. My boots got stuck in the mud, so my dad had to pull me out, carry me on his shoulders and slog through that muck with a hive under each arm. I remember thinking, “Wow, my dad is so strong!” There are times in life when you feel like you’re walking through the mud, barely able …

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3 (NKJV) Have you ever flipped the calendar, excited for a brand-new year, only to realize last year’s problems haven’t gone anywhere? If you’ve been feeling stuck emotionally, physically, relationally or financially, I want to show you how to get free. The key to moving into what God has for you next is to praise Him. Yet passionate praise is something many believers are missing in their lives. Scripture describes praise as giving thanks, glorifying God, blessing His name and magnifying Him. To magnify is to make something bigger. But if God is already infinite, how could you make Him any bigger? It’s all about your focus—praising God causes your awareness of Him …