RCCG Open Heaven Devotion 2012 – Pastor E. A. Adeboye (ISBN: 978-36079-4-4)
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(Previously available online @: http://www.rccgna.org/Resources/BibleStudy/Devotionals.aspx)

Bible in one year: Jeremiah 1-2

Memorise: Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Psalms 100:2

Read: 2 Chronicles 20:20-30

When the Psalmist followed the multitude into God’s house, he went with joy. Without being forced, he began to praise God. In Psalms 100:1-5, we are told why we should praise the Lord: He is our Creator and we are His flock; He is good, His mercy towards us is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations. God also loves us to enter His presence with singing and with thanksgiving. He loves to see us joyful. Sometimes, if you can forget your worries and troubles and just rejoice exceedingly in His presence, by the time you return home, your joy would have become permanent, and when you search for the cause of your worries, they will not to be found.

It is unfortunate some of us have to be pushed or cajoled before we can let out a faint Hallelujah! I have witnessed unexpected things happen in the course of praising God. When we were about to start a church in Otukpo, Benue State (Middle Belt Nigeria), I was to talk on divine healing in one of the sessions. But they so praised God intensely that all I could remember was Luke 1:37. Suddenly God started to move in the place and a crowd gathered; some people were baptised in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. When you praise God adequately and eulogise His name until His “head swells”, things that you never expected will begin to take place. Praise is a very effective weapon in the hands of those who know how to use it. If you know how to offer high praises to God, your enemies will be in trouble. If you doubt this, ask King Jehoshaphat and he will tell you of his experience (2 Chronicles 20:1-30). Some powerful nations gathered to fight Israel. The king heard it and was afraid. But unlike some of us, he turned his fears over to the Lord, and sought His face with his people and at the end, they began to praise God. As they offered high praises, the three nations destroyed themselves and left a great booty for Israel, which took them three days to pack. When the other nations who were secretly planning to attack Israel heard it, they all began to quake. That was how Israel enjoyed peace through praise. You too can enjoy peace by simply praising God.

Spend today praising God for His mercies and goodness towards you and your family.