“With My Whole Heart.”
“I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee” (Psalm 138:1).
“Whole heart” praise chooses to exalt Jesus higher than your problems or daily issues. Whole-hearted praise faces impossibilities with violent passion from God’s love. It is faith casting down imaginations that exalts itself against the will and mind of God.
So, I choose to cast down discouragement and unbelief to praise Jesus with my whole heart and in total worship. Whole-hearted praise requires faith in God’s care and protection for my life. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He knows what I need before I ask.
So, as I face the enemy today, I declare my God is a provider. He is my horn and my buckler, my shield and fortress. He’s my friend when I’m lonely. He’s my doctor when I’m sick. He’s my banker when I have no money. He’s my army and my defense when I’m under attack. He’s my counselor when I’m confused. So, with my whole heart, I will praise the Lord!
This means submitting your will and attitude in order to exalt and magnify the goodness of God when you don’t feel like it. It means focusing your faith on His unchangeable promises, not on our limitations.
To praise with your whole heart means to let go of your demanding issues and paralyzing problems, and give your God the highest praise. Whole heart praise means I must passionately declare that I am weak, and that Jesus is strong. I am nothing and He is everything. I can do nothing without Him while He can do anything!
True whole-hearted worship is God’s Spirit shaping the fruit of the Spirit in you as you exalt Him. It transforms you. He shapes holiness and convictions in you as you worship Him with your whole heart. Whole-hearted worship is surrendering your will and attitude to the supreme all-knowing God! It is fearing His presence. It’s allowing the Spirit to break up the fallow ground of the hardened areas of your heart through His gentle love.
Whole-hearted worship means Jesus is my Father, who knows how to protect me when I am hurt. He is my Abba Father. He knows how to hold me when I’m fearful and angry. He’s my everything. Jesus is everything to me! I trust Him in my pain. He has not forsaken the people of His covenant; the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has my best interests at heart.
With whole-hearted worship, you will become pliable and flexible to the move of the Spirit. You become transparent with Jesus.
Whole-hearted worship is a lifestyle, not something you do just when you come to church. You do it when your children are sick, when you lose your job, when you’re attacked financially, when your best friend betrays you, and when your spouse misunderstands you. You do it when you’re faced with severe failure.
Whole-hearted worship requires courage in God while facing great fears and worries. For with my whole heart, I will give thee praise, Oh Lord!
“I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands” (Psalm 138:2-8).
Pastor Don Rogers
The Pentecostals of Wisconsin
WNOP North Central Region Prayer Coordinator
(Information from: Prayer Connect – World Network of Prayer – floshaw@wnop-upci.ccsend.com)