Do you know you should to minister to the Lord? Many people only think about God ministering to us. Thank God, He does take care of us, but this thing is a two way street, we must minister to the Lord.
The early church ministered to the Lord by spending time in praise and worship. Well, that's how you minister to the Lord, by worshiping and by praising Him.
The Bible says, God inhabits the praise of His people. The word "inhabit" means to revel in or get smack in the middle of. God loves it when His children praise Him; and praise is an expression of our faith.
Now when you worship God, you're worshiping Him for who He is. When you praise God, you're praising Him for what He's going to do.
You worship God because He is your Maker; and the Maker of the universe, who hung the stars and moon in place, and provided all the earth's beauty and sustenance.
But you praise God because you know the same God who made the whole universe is taking care of you no matter what comes up against you. Your praise comes before you see victory—before anything happens because God will sustain you. Praising God causes you to minister to yourself and minister to God at the same time.
The Bible tells us about the various moods of God, when He was happy, sad, angry, and rejoicing. All of those emotions happened based on what His children do. As parents, we've experience the same emotions—right? We rejoice when our children do, right? And we get angry when they don't do things correctly. We are happy when they exhibit confidence in us and sad when they don't.
I can remember when my oldest daughter was small, and somebody tried to tell her something different than what I said. She told them, "No, my daddy said this, and my daddy said that." You see, she was confident in what her daddy said, and if you said something different, you were wrong because daddy is always right.
God is the same way with us. God loves when you praise Him. Praise and worship exhibits our confidence and faith in His word and will cause God to move on your behalf.
Scripture References: Psalms 150; 104:1-5
Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).
