Today is the National Day of Prayer. Confession: I totally forgot about it. It’s always the first Thursday in May, and I almost always forget (until the morning of). As I reflect on what this day is about, it’s easy to look around and be discouraged by the state of our country. We need more than one day set aside to pray. We need the God of the impossible. We long for Jesus to return. We want the Holy Spirit to invade.

There are many ways that we as believers can respond when it seems like the world is falling apart. In this blog, I want to share just two of those ways. I hope you’re encouraged to pause and put them both into practice. Also, get ready for some Hebrew and Greek definitions!

“‘When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; His eyes examine them.” – Psalm 11:3-4

I love that the answer to this question is a bold reminder of where God is and what He’s doing. He is seated. He’s secure, stable. He doesn’t fall off of His throne. He’s in control. He is God, and He is good! He sees us; He’s never failed us and He never will.

One response to trouble, trial or hardship is PRAISE. We worship because He’s worthy. We praise Him because it pleases Him.

“Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” – Psalm 22:3

The Hebrew word for holy is qadowsh (H6918); it means “set apart, sacred, the Judge of what is right and true.”

The word for enthroned in this verse is yashab (H3427); “properly, to sit down (specifically as judge; in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry. To dwell, to dwell in, inhabit ‘dwelling amongst the praises of Israel’, in the temple, where the hymns of Israel from around sound in thy ears.”

So God is holy, seated on His heavenly throne. A gracious judge and loving Father – because of Jesus. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see our mistakes or imperfections – He sees Jesus. Jesus made a way for us to live freely with the Father, and we have been completely covered by His blood. Our sin forgiven, our hearts made new, our relationship with God forever restored.

In light of this, how can we keep quiet? How can we not praise Him?

The word for upon the praises is tĕhillah (H8416), meaning “laudation; praise, a song containing praise – a hymn.” It comes from the word halal (H1984): “to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify.” There are numerous words related to worship in the Bible, but this is one of my favorites.

This kind of praise isn’t quiet; it’s a celebration!

“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because his judgments are true and righteous…’” – Revelation 19:1-2a

Hallelujah! (G239) It’s an “adoring exclamation” from the Hebrew words “halal” (praise, H1984) and “Jah” (Jehovah, H3050). It literally means halal to Jah, or praise the Lord!

“Praise the LORD (Hallelujah)! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly.” – Psalm 111:1

“Praise the LORD (Hallelujah)! For it is good to sing praises (zamar) to our God; For it is pleasant and praise (tĕhillah) is becoming.” – Psalm 147:1

This verse has another definition for sing praises – zamar (H2167): ”perhaps identical with H2168 (to trim, pluck, prune) through the idea of striking with the fingers; properly, to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, i.e. play upon it; to make music, accompanied by the voice; hence to celebrate in song and music.”

It is good to make music to our God! Hallelujah! It is beautiful, fitting and suitable to praise Him with songs! It is delightful, agreeable, sweet, lovely, and pleasing to the King. When we PRAISE – He shows up! He dwells among us, He tarries. He inhabits our praises; He’s enthroned.

I strongly encourage you to take 5 minutes to listen and worship along with this song, Hallelujah Here Below. This song off the Paradoxology album from Elevation Worship has been such a powerful, beautiful reminder for me in praising the Lord. God “delights in the offering” and ”abides in the song we sing.”

Another response when our foundation is shaken: PRAY. Prayer is a dialogue between you and God, both talking and listening. Because of Jesus, we have access to come boldly to the throne of God and present our requests, with thanksgiving.

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews‬ ‭4:16

The Bible teaches to pray without ceasing, to pray and not give up, to pray instead of being anxious, and so much more. (Dig in to the Word and discover more about prayer! Look at Jesus’ life and the example he set in prayer.)

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” – Matthew 18:19-20

Last Saturday, a friend and I attended a workshop with Dannah Gresh for her new book, Lies Girls Believe. Before she jumped into her talk, she had us get in groups of 2 or 3 to spend 5-10 minutes praying together. Instead of spending all that time explaining to the ladies in our group of why we needed prayer, we simply talked to God and prayed for ourselves. In agreement with our sisters, we shared our hearts with Him in their presence and His. It was powerful! Jesus was there in our midst as we prayed to our Father in Heaven.

The Greek word for agree is symphōneō (G4856): “properly, to sound together, be in accord; of sounds and of musical instruments. In the New Testament tropically, to be in accord, to harmonize, i. e., a. to agree together.”

The word for gathered together in the Greek is synagō (G4863); it means “to bring together, assemble, collect: to join together, join in one. Passive, to be gathered, i. e. come together, gather, meet.”

When we come together to pray in agreement, God hears a delightful symphony – and Jesus says the Father will answer our prayers! When we gather in unity to seek Him, Jesus says He will meet us there! He joins us in the middle of our meeting.

I encourage you to find one or two other believers and pray together. Set up a time to meet for the purpose of praying. Today would be great as it’s the National Day of Prayer but we can do this any day! (And we should every day!) Pray for yourself – for your heart, whatever you’re facing, for your family. Let others agree with you in prayer. Spend more time talking and listening to God than to each other.

I believe praise and prayer go hand in hand. Worship changes the atmosphere; it helps get our eyes off of ourselves and on to the One who’s in control and seated on the throne. Our perspective changes, and we can talk to God more freely, in a posture of faith, positioned for grace, praying His will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.

This Week’s Song Suggestions:

• Hallelujah Here Below – Elevation
• King of My Heart – Bethel (My favorite part starts at 12 minutes!)
• Another in the Fire – Hillsong United