We Praise Him With Our Breath
We have nothing to give
That didn't first come from Your hands
We have nothing to offer You
Which You did not provide
Every good, perfect gift comes from
Your kind and gracious heart
And all we do is give back to You
What always has been Yours
Lord, we're breathing the breath
That You gave us to breathe
To worship You, to worship You
And we're singing these songs
With the very same breath
To worship You, to worship You
Who has given to You
That it should be paid back to him?
Who has given to You
As if You needed anything?
From You, and to You, and through You
Come all things, O Lord
And all we do is give back to You
What always has been Yours
Lord, we're breathing the breath
That You gave us to breathe
To worship You, to worship You
And we're singing these songs
With the very same breath
To worship You, to worship You
(Matt Redman, 2004)
Welcome to the final day of this season of prayer and fasting. Have you enjoyed connecting with God in a deeper way? Have you fallen deeper in love with Jesus? Have you been able to fellowship with the Holy Spirit in a more meaningful way?
Have you prevailed in spiritual warfare? Have you seen the gates of hell come crashing down? Have you seen the powers of darkness being pushed back? Have you seen strongholds crumble?
Have you experienced God's healing or deliverance? Have you been touched afresh by the Father's love? Have your eyes been opened to see a new aspect of God's mercy and grace? Have you been empowered to serve the Lord with greater zeal and passion?
Now is the time to give praise and thanks to God for all that He has done, for all that He is doing, and for all that He is still to do. Let's lift up our testimonies of praise to God. Let's use the breath that God has given us to worship Him, as the scriptures exhort us:
Psalm 150:6 - Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Luke 1:64 - And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.
Psalm 51:15 - O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.
Hebrews 13:15 - Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
Some of us may have had a tough week. Maybe we've felt the pressure of busyness, or we've experienced the strain of working at, or beyond, the limits of our competence, or the frustration of having to make pragmatic decisions instead of perfect ones, or we've had to resign ourselves to having to work within the confines of our fallibility. We may even have found it difficult to fast – to quell the urges of the flesh by subjecting our bodies to strict discipline. But, all these things have prompted us to pray - to let go of thinking that we can control everything and make a success of everything, and, instead, thank God that we can cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), knowing that He can take care of all of our needs, so our thoughts and feelings can be calm, quiet and settled. What a brilliant way to end our time of prayer and fasting!
Joy should also be evident in our praise and worship. Psalm 100:1 exhorts us to make a joyful noise unto the LORD. Psalm 98:4 says, Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice, sing praise! Colossians 1:12 instructs us to give joyful thanks to the Father, who has made us fit to share in everything that He has prepared for us.
Psalm 16:11 declares that in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore. The presence of God is a joyful place to be - joy in all its fullness, abundance of joy, total celebration, absolute and complete gladness, joy which is indescribable, unspeakable, ineffable and full of glory!
When we worship God, we are using the same breath that God has breathed into us to declare His praise. This is why we were created. 1 Peter 2:9 says: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Let's use the breath that God has given us to declare His praise!
Prayer
Lord God, we use the breath that You have given us to give You thanks and praise for all that You have done and continue to do in our lives. We rejoice in Your goodness and faithfulness. We love how You are working in and through Your church and that You have greater things planned for us than we can possibly imagine. Thank You that You also have great things in store for our city and nation. We give You all the honour and glory. Amen!
