Every Sunday morning at my church, a group of leaders and altar workers gathers with our pastor for a short time of prayer before the church service begins. Usually, he starts with a few remarks to us, and then we all pray together. Last Sunday, my husband and I were sitting in the foyer, outside the room where we usually meet, as we chatted with people trickling in to head for the sanctuary. Our pastor slipped into the room, and I heard him beginning to pray before any of the rest of us had entered the room. Just a minute later, as we joined him, he was continuing in an attitude of praise as he paced in the room. More people joined in, and soon we were all praising and praying, asking God's presence and favor on our time together that day. It's not often that I feel the Holy Spirit's tangible presence, but that morning, I was very aware that something had shifted in the atmosphere. The sweet company of the Lord was most definitely in that place.
An event like this one a much bigger scale happened in the Old Testament.
"Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praise the Lord, saying:
"For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever,"
that the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God."
(1 Chronicles 5:13-14)
Fellow believers - think of the implications of this! Praise and thanksgiving can change the atmosphere of a place. That means that we can change the dynamic in our homes, schools, and workplaces by releasing our praise to God.
There are problems in all these places because there are people in all these places. Sometimes we complain about what is going on to anyone who will listen. Other times we are wiser, and we pray about those problems. We ask God to change people and to solve conflicts. The first response is useless, the second is an improvement, but maybe the third is a door to allowing the Holy Spirit greater access into the situation. It's also a way to center us and remind us who is actually in control, instead of feeling that we are fighting battles of stress, conflict, and negativity alone.
God is worthy to be praised, regardless of our circumstances, so no matter the outcome, let's begin to do this regularly. Praise God in those physical spaces you encounter. Prepare the atmosphere and see what happens!
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