Someone very dear to me was suffering and in anguish over a very tense situation at work. She felt that she was being unjustly persecuted by several peers. The harder she tried to right the situation by doing all that was asked of her, the worse the situation became. She felt like a bug caught in a spider web. She had worked very hard for the degree needed to perform this job and didn’t want to walk away without having fulfilled the job God had called her to do.
As I prayed about the situation God told me the answer was in the Psalms. Of course, we must perform spiritual warfare, just as David had done. In my delight to provide relief I jumped to say we must cast out demons in Jesus’ name! But as I continued to pray this just didn’t seem like the right answer in this case.
Looking for reading material, I just happened to pick up a book called Prison to Praise. It was a small book, a fast read, just the right thing for this evening. I quickly read through the material. Then it hit me. This was our answer.
Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers teaches us spiritual power through praise. In the natural it seems like the last thing one should do in an unfortunate situation. But the Bible says: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you’! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. How often do we praise the Lord when things aren’t well?
In Luke 6:23 Jesus tells us we are to leap for joy when we are hungry, when men hate us, when men reproach us, when they cast out our name as evil… rejoice in that day and leap for joy. The natural man does not like it when people turn against him etc. But the Bible continually says to rejoice and thank God for everything. In the book of Psalms David continually spoke of joy in the midst of troubles. In Psalms 30 David said that the Lord had turned his mourning into dancing.
Satan can’t do a thing to us unless he first gets God’s permission. Remember God allowed Satan to test Job. The only time God gives Satan permission is when God sees the potential in the thing passing through us to come out as pure joy. When we begin to realize this, God can bless our lives. Miracles, power and victory will all be a part of what God does in our lives when we learn to rejoice in all things!
I’ll site two examples of victory that were found in the book “Prison to Praise” when the power of praise was used.
1. One day Mr. Carothers got in his car to go to work and it wouldn’t start. In the Army there is no excuse for being late for work. Mr. Carothers began to praise the Lord and thank him that his car wouldn’t start. Someone eventually came along and helped him get it started. The next morning same problem, same praise. Later that day he took the car to the post garage, only to find out that the mechanic was in the hospital and couldn’t fix the car. The manager advised him to take it to the civilian place but warned him that they really sock it to them as far as overcharging for services. Mr. Carothers just continued to thank the Lord for his situation and took it to the civilian garage. The mechanic there wouldn’t quote a definite price saying it could be quite a few things and would take a lot of work and research. Mr. Carothers just continued to thank the Lord and told Him that he knew there was a good reason for this to happen. After much difficulty getting the car started to pull it into the mechanic’s bay the manager quickly grabbed his arm and shouted “Wait a minute! I’ve just thought what may be your trouble. Turn off the engine!” He then poked around with a screwdriver for a few minutes and then said, Try now.” The engine started like it was new. When Carothers asked what he owed, the manager advised him not a thing. The Lord then spoke to him saying”Your life is in the palm of My hand and you can trust me for all things. As you continue to thank Me in all circumstances you will see how perfectly I work out every detail of your life.” Most of us go around carrying these wonderful opportunities as heavy burdens, but God has ordained through Christ that all of these things can be revolutionized as they pass through us and come out as joy!
2. An Officer candidate came to see Chaplain Carothers and he was openly weeping because his wife had asked for a divorce. Her lawyer had already sent him the papers to sign. He said he couldn’t stay in the Officer candidate program or even stay in the Army. He begged for help. Chaplain Carothers advised him to kneel down and thank God that his wife wanted a divorce. After the Chaplain showed him scriptures telling him to praise God and to thank him for all circumstances he knelt down and prayed thanking God for the situation. He continued thanking God all through the day and evening and into the next day. The next evening another candidate tapped him on the shoulder and told him he had a telephone call. His wife was weeping on the other end asking for forgiveness telling him she didn’t want a divorce.
There are many examples given in the book of how praise and thankfulness in all circumstances allows God to work in our favor bringing all things to good.
Another book I recently read, "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom also sites an example of the power of praise in all situations. Betsie Ten Boom praised the Lord for the fleas that were jumping up her legs and biting her in the concentration camp barracks they called their "home". Corrie couldn't understand how Betsie could praise the Lord for this. Betsie just continued to praise the Lord for this "blessing." Eventually the fleas became an actual blessing because the prison guards refused to come into this particular barracks because the fleas were so bad, providing Betsie and Corrie with more time to minister to the other inmates and therefore saving more souls for Christ.http://annrandolph.hubpages.com/hub/Corrie-Ten-Boom
The power of praise is the highest form of communication with God, releasing power into our lives. Praise is done as an act of obedience as demonstrated by David all through the book of Psalms. When we persist, the power of God is released in our situation.
The enemy’s arrows can’t penetrate the joy of someone who is praising the Lord. In II Chronicles 20 we read how a whole army was defeated when the Israelites praised the Lord and believed Him when he said the battle wasn’t theirs but His. The message is just as clear today. When we praise Him, He sends our enemies scurrying.
