God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22:3 Translated into Hebrew, inhabits means: יָשַׁב sit, remain, dwell.
I’ve heard this verse many times over the years. God inhabits the praises of His people. In the church I grew up in, I sat in the back row. I was able to say, “Hi!” to the people as they would walk in. All of my spiritual grandmas, those powerhouse spiritual elders, full of the Holy Spirit, would walk in every Sunday, faithfully. Some would come in dancing with their walker, excited to enter into the House of God, excited to praise and worship, pray, and hear God’s word preached. These ladies would enter into God’s presence quickly, pushing aside everything and every distraction to enter into His presence. I’d see tears on their cheeks as they were worshipping, singing, closing their eyes, pushing all else out of their mind and focusing solely on Jesus, raising their hands in worship.
I get it now. I get it now. This past year, I’ve been blessed to be able to sit at the feet of Jesus, digging deeper into His word, craving more and more of His presence. As I would share with my husband what God was speaking to me through my study, tears would begin to flow. God’s presence would enter our home and we’d stop and give a prayer of thanks and praise, for His presence. God truly dwells in the praises of His people. With His presence comes a peace that is unlike any other. I would tell my husband, “I get why they (the praying Grandmas) would begin to cry while praying or singing or just talking about Jesus. It’s because God’s presence comes down and rests upon them as they’re worshipping Him. When God’s presence comes down, the tears just start because His presence is so sweet.”
God is wanting us to examine our heart posture as we approach Him. 1 Chronicles 16:29 says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” He is worthy of it all. He is worthy of us giving Him thanks. He is worthy of our praise. It takes the focus off of us, our situations, our frustrations or whatever is wanting our attention and puts it all on Him. Those praying Grandmas showed me well. After decades of watching and observing them, I get it now. I get it now.
God does something in our times of worship. He comes to dwell, sit and inhabit wherever it is we make time to worship Him. How amazing is that?! What that looks like for me is sitting quietly and pushing all mental distractions aside. I find my favorite worship songs on YouTube and begin to enter into His presence. I’ve been hearing the word posture a lot over the past few weeks. I’ve been praying about it because when I keep hearing a word, phrase or something repeatedly, it’s usually God trying to get my attention. Google dictionary describes posture as:
“a particular way of dealing with or considering something; an approach or attitude.”
I posture my heart to focus on Him, ready my heart to hear His voice as I read His Word. It is really the most favorite time of my day.
He is holy and to be revered, sacred. Check your heart posture. How are you entering into His presence? How are you making time for Him? The praise changes things. God does battle on our behalf through worship. He thwarts the plans of the enemy through worship. Giving thanks before you see the changes you’re praying for. It reaches God’s ears and touches His heart. The worship rises to His throne like incense and is a pleasing fragrance to Him.
There’s a verse I read last week that blew my mind. It was from 2 Chronicles 5:13-14. It goes:
“The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.”
There it is. That’s what I desire. His presence. His glory. It’s changing so many things. My heart posture heading into 2023 is to pursue His presence and to live a life of worship so His presence comes and dwells, inhabits and remains. I want more of Him. It’s not about me. It’s about Him. It’s to point to Him. It’s always to point to Him.
I’ll end here with this verse from Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־ טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃