The Power of Praise

“About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God...” Acts 16:25

There is power in praising God. Many times when I feel bad I sing songs to God, sometimes in my own words. It never fails to lift up my spirits. Here in Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas land in jail after freeing a slave girl from evil spirits. She was a fortune teller and brought much money to her masters which angered them because they lost their source of income. They dragged the disciples to the chief magistrates who ordered them beaten and thrown into jail. They were put in the innermost cell with their feet fastened to a stake. 

Did they mope and feel sorry for themselves? Did they cry out to God in desperation? Did they get angry at God thinking we are doing all this for You and this is our reward? No. They prayed and sang hymns of praise to God. The prisoners were all listening and the praise was so powerful there came a great earthquake which shook the foundations of the jailhouse!!! 

When we are more desperate than desperate, when all hope is gone, what should we do? Shake heaven with our praise! This is the message of a little 96-page book entitled “Prison to Praise” by Merlin Carothers. He had a very tough start in life, ending up in jail for a while, when he learned the powerful practise of praising God in all circumstances, especially the difficult ones. More than 10 million copies of this book has been printed and many who followed his example have had their lives transformed. 

Jean Underfel-Babalis said, “When I first got sober 32 years ago I found this book, it revolutionized my thinking, my life, and became the basis for my recovery. I’m convinced that this book was one of the primary sources that is responsible for my being clean and sober for the past 32 years. I learned the power of praise.” 

Kelly Davis shared, “I was in a cult when I first read this book 21 years ago. I was unhappy and felt very oppressed, victimized and never "good enough" . I figured I had nothing to lose so I tried it first on a nasty day when I had to stand out on a corner collecting money with a sore ankle . My praise was pretty sarcastic at first but as the day went on, I started noticing many subtle changes happening within me. I persisted and by the end of the day I felt a "joy unspeakable" I had never experienced before...I did it in faith and obedience to His Word. When I persisted in this, something broke apart deep within me and a stronghold Satan had on me for years started crumbling.”

Praise God for another secret! The power of praise!