Our generation is witnessing a new dimension of the power of praise and Worship and the effect of the Music Ministry in the body of Christ. There is therefore the constant need to reach out to every level in the Body so we can all partake of this manifold grace of God. It is in this light that a new series of pocket-sized publications is coming out (still in this area) to bless the body of Christ.
It has been noticed that a high percentage of students, wards and trainees exist in our choirs and singing groups, who should have access to every material to enhance their effectiveness in the Music Ministry, but who cannot afford big books presently available for themselves. The new PRAISE’N’ JOY POCKET GUIDE SERIES(PGS) is made to reach out to all and sundry.
There are yet many of our brethren who are willing to read books in this area but for time. It might be difficult sometimes to sit down and read a voluminous book at a goal. And yet we must endeavour to become the best. We shall highlight 100 tips to know about praise and worship.
100 Helpful Tips on Praise and Worship
1. Praise is for God only and not for men. It is therefore senseless to be praising the Pastor despite any good he has done or is doing for you. The Bible says “Not unto us, OLord, not unto us, but unto thy name…Thou art worthy O Lord (Not ‘O Pastor’)…” Ps. 115:1; Rev. 4:11
2. Remove praise ministry from the church, you experience the absence of God. “In Judah… Read Ps.22:3, 76:1.
3. If you despise His praise music His praise men like Michaldid to David, be ready to be barren in life, family and ministry. “And David danced before… and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal…looked through a window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart…Therefore, Michal…had no child unto the day of her death”.
4. Until you hallow and adore Him, His kingdom may be difficult to experience in your life, home, church and ministry. Matt.6:9ff
5. The end of your struggle comes when you give birth to Judah(Praise). “And she… will I praise the Lord… Read (Gen. 29:35)
6. Worship is ‘War-ship’. You will win every battle in it. Praise is a weapon for winning spiritual warfare. “And when they began to sing and to praise … of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, which come against… Read II Chr. 20:22.
7. No ministry can be effective without praise ministry. Praise must envelop every ministry. “Prophet Elisha said:”… now bring me a minstrel. And…when the minstrel played,…the hand of the Lord came upon him(Elisha)” (II Kg.3:15)
8. If you reject the law and the order of praise, you will regret it. Ps.18:3 “He who scorns instruction will pay for it…” Prov. 13:13 NIV
9. There are many ways to worship God but only one God should be worshipped. (Ex. 20:3-5)
10. You cannot love God without giving Him His Praise and you cannot praise Him without loving Him.
11. Stay clear of the unthankful and the ungratefulness in perilous times! “This … covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy… Read II Tim. 3: 1-2.
12. If you ponder and think deeply to know that any day you see is a gift from God, you will rejoice and be glad in it just as on Christmas day. (Ps. 118:23)
13. To keep away the devil always; let your heart be a heart of praise; your house – house of praise, and your body – body of praise.
14. Worship is ‘worth-ship’. Give God His worth and have your worth.
15. True happiness is knowing that the Lord is good. (Ps. 34:8)
16. What you worship determines what you become and the song you sing always speaks of who you are.
17. Praising God turns burdensinto blessing; test intotestimony; trials intotriumph; sweat to sweet;warfare to welfare/’winfare’;tragedies to triumph;mourning to dancing. (Ps. 30:5)”The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me to…comfort all that mourn,… the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” (Is. 61: 2-3)
18. The better our memory, the better our praise. (Ps.126)”…Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” (Ps. 103)
19. God never stops giving us reasons to praise Him. Read Hab. 3:17-19 Blessed be… in heavenly places in Christ”. Read Eph. 1:3.
20. Those who praise God on earth wholeheartedly will feel at home in heaven. (Ps. 99; Rev. 5: 8-14)
21. When you refuse to praise God, you disappoint Him for creating you because the primary purpose of your creation and existence on earth is to praise Him. Don’t be abastard, give the Father His daily praise. Rev. 4:11, Ps. 137,I Pet.2:9 . Read Is. 43:21.
22. Stay long in His presence viapraise worship and have a long life. No one can shorten your life or days as you live in his presence daily. (Ps. 1; 16:11; 91)
23. Safety is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of God. (Ps. 31:1-2)
24. Each day, week, month and year is a gift to be opened with thanksgiving. “Enter into His gate with thanksgiving… My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning…” (Ps.100; Ps.5:3)
25. When you tarry in His presence through worship, you shall not be tattered.
26. When you need a lift, lift your voice in praise and lift Him! (Ps. 9:1-5, Ps.50:23)”…Those who honour Me, I will honour…” (I Sam. 2:30c)
27. Worship that pleases God comes from an obedient heart.”The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17)
28. Don’t place Uzzah in place of the Levites to carry the Saints into His presence or else a problem/curse may be hanged on that ‘Uzzah’. Know your placement in the Kingdom service. Don’t cross another man’s lane. (I Chr. 13:8-14)
29. You can pray amiss but you cannot praise amiss! Praisecannot lose value nor missits target.
30. A man who knows how to thank is qualified to praise. Just as thanksgiving precedes praise, so also praise precedes worship. (Ps. 100:4)
31. God’s great power generates our greatest praise. (Ps. 33:9-10)
32. When you maintain the right attitude towards life and the altitude towards life, gratitude towards God, for to be grateful will begin. Read Ps.67:5-7;92:1,10.
33. Those who bless God in their trials and problems will be blessed by God through their trials. (Acts 16:25ff) “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you…And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah on to dry Land” (Jonah 2:9-10)
34. The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving.
35. It is one thing to sing, it is another to praise. (II Chr. 20:22)
36. Avoid referring to praise songs as ‘warming’ or play songs.
37. If you keep in tune with Christ, you can sing His praise even in the dark. Only those who are wholeheartedly committed to Christ can have a song in the night. Read Ps.42:11. Read Job 35:10.
38. Genuine thankfulness is the wellspring of godliness and gratitude to God leads to growth in godliness. (Ps.92:1-6)
39. If you are finishing thankful, it tells that you are finishing well.
40. You can never praise God too much. Therefore, praise through for your daily breakthrough.
41. The result of praise can be marred because of these enemies such as pride, unforgiveness, sadness, murmuring, ingratitude, lateness to praise time, sin…If you make an excuse for sin, your sin will not be excused. I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps.66:18)
42. Praise time is a giving time. Until you give, you cannot receive. Don’t take God for granted or else you’ll be grounded.
43. genuine praise comes only from a genuine heart that is not deceiving himself like A man who is fond of singing worldly songs at home and hallelujah chorus in the church with the same tongue. (Lk.6:46) “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine or figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh”. (James 3:10-12)
44. You can be rich if you constantly, consistently and continually reach God in praise. And you can prosper if you propel and increase your praise frequency daily. (II Chr. 20: 22-25; Heb.13:15,Ps.34:8)
45. Prayer should be opened and closed with praise if we would not violate the order/pattern of prayer laid down by Lord Jesus in Matt. 6:9ff.Adoration of God should always come before asking of God and should be rounded up after the requests have been made.
46. You can only come before Him with singing and gladness. Murmuring and complaining are not allowed. (Ps. 100: 1-2, I Cor. 10:10)
47. The protocol and order to His presence is thanksgiving →Praise → Worship. (Ps. 100:4). Do not rearrange them by yourself. Use the right key to enter or else you may be roaming in a circle without any result.
48. You thank God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He’s yet to do. You praise Him for who He is and you worship Him for His holiness.
49. When you hail Him, He will heal you. Saul was healed of his madness and infirmity because David hailed Him with music and dancing. (I Sam, 16:23)
50. When you praise Him, He’ll place you. A low praise gives you a low place; a high praise, a high place and the highest praise for your highest place. Give Him His praise and get your place. (Ps. 149: 6-9).Because PRAISE means Power to RAISE!
51. To become a celebrity in the kingdom, you need to be celebrating His Lordship Daify (E.g. David)
52. Praise is a commandment and not a suggestion. Not that you do not feel like doing it but it is a debt that must be paid daily. It is not negotiable! (Ps. 147:1; 150:6)
53. Be right with God and sing the right praise song to experience the right result. A strong person who sings the right song cannot see the right result. Likewise, the right person who sings the wrong song will miss the right result.
54. There is a time for shouting because the shouting side will always be the winning side.(Ps. 126, Joshua 6, Ps. 47:1)
55. No one can bring the Holy God down through praise without being holy himself.”Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.” (Ps.99:9) You will be poor if you are not pure and the degree of your popularity in the Kingdom is determined by the degree of your purity. The holiest people will always be the happiest people.
56. Always give your loving thanks for the Lord’s lavish gifts. (I Chr. 29:12)
57. Praise ministry is a mystery to avoid misery in the work of the ministry.
58. Angels are examples of worship, not objects of worship. (Heb. 1:14) “…And when I had heard and seen, I fell to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he (angel) unto me, see thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren the prophets…worship God”. (Rev. 22:8-9)
59. To appreciate God’s many gifts, first thank Him for his greatest gift (Jesus). II Cor. 9:15)
60. Christian, thanksgiving is not just a day, but a way of life.
61. If you believe in JesusKingship, you will bow to Him in worship. But when you are celebrating His Lordship and God’s manifestation is noticed, know for sure that some will rejoice with you while some will despise you. Some will commend and some will condemn. (E.g. David and Michal) II Sam 6
62. Our worship is right only when we are right with God. (Ps. 95: 1,8)
63. The road to worship begins at the cross. (Jn.4:1-26,Jam 4:8)
64. Thanksgiving is good but’thanksliving’ is better. Therefore, live a consistent lifestyle of private and public praise yourself.
65. Life is worthless without a daily praise offering. Do not be worn out, live praising.
66. The devil dreads a singing Christian especially if it is a praise song.
67. You cannot sing without being joyful (Jam 5:13) but if the devil manages to take your joy, praise will not flow and hence, he’ll take your throne. It should be a joyful noise with a joyful heart! Not a joyful noise with a sorrowful heart! (Ps.100:1)
68. Always keep your eyes on God through praise/worship and He will never take His eyes off you.
69. The paths of God are the paths of praise.
70. Smiling, laughter, singing and dancing are the signs and symptoms of a joyful heart/soul. It must speak. Ps. 126:2; Act 3:8, 14:10, Jam. 5:13). But joy outside Christ is dangerous and destructive.
71. Prayer moves mountains but praise moves God. Make your choice! (Ps.22:3)
72. Praise is a mystery for mastery. David praised- through and became master all through. He fought more than any other king of Israel with about 42 battles but never lost anyone. He was winning all the time. King Saul and his shorts missed their target on him.
73. A praising/singing church is a happy, growing and living church. So also is a life, home, family and ministry.
74. Never deny God of His daily bread (praise) so you may get your daily bread.
75. Sacrifice of praise is a self-denial and not a fair-weather praise. It may not be reasonable to common sense but we are enjoined to praise God whatever happens (Ps.34:1 (TLB), Heb. 13:15). God can never overlook it.
76. You can silence the enemy with your shout of praise.”.. and let them(enemies) make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city… But I will sing of Thy power, yea I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for Thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Ps.59:14,16)
77. Praise comes naturally when you count your blessings (if you can count them all). Think about your breath-control calculation: Approximately you breath for18 times per minute free of charge.
.18×60=1,080pper hour
=1080x24h
25,920 per day=25,920
Approximately you breathe 26,000 times per day.
Therefore, if you pass through a year successfully, you get -9,490,000 times if you are 10 years old now you have breathed 94,900,000 times free of charge. Then, if you are:
20 years old – 189,800,000 times
30 years old -284,700,000 times
40 years old – 379,600,000 times
50 years old – 474,500,000 times
60 years old – 569,400,000 times
70 years old -664,300,000 times
All for free of charge! THINK!
78. A joyful sound from your heart/soul will always produce joyful signs and wonders for you. (Ps. 89:15-16)
79. Do not be giving 5 minutes for praise/worship in a 21/2 hour service. You must at least offer 10% of your time to God plus your offering making at least 20 minutes.
80. Pastors should please excuse themselves from staying in the office or sitting down while the saints/congregation are praising God.
81. We must always avoid body sins to flow in body praise. (Rm.12:1-2)
82. Praise music is a perfect gift·for a saint’s perfection. (Rm 12:6-8 Jam 1:17, Eph 4:11-14)
83. Avoid any doctrinal issues shouting, dancing, musical instruments etc. Know what the Bible says about them and use them to His glory. (Ps. 150)
84. Praise is a ministry that reminds and prepares the saint of his last duty in heaven. Praise can never die. It is an eternal ministry. (Rev. 4 and 5)
85. Our greatest privilege is to enjoy God’s presence which can only be gotten through praise. (Ps. 27:4)
86. Do not use the time of praise to while away time as you expect more people into the service, or while you expect the guest speaker of the day to arrive.
87. Avoid too long an opening prayer in praise time. Do not use 15 minutes out of 30 minutes of praise/worship for prayer.
88. Avoid singing new songs which may not be easily known by members during praise time.
89. God inhabits praises, not more choruses or other songs. PoyaChukwu na Gaza; Jehovah Jireh, my Provider; I no go suffer… are not praise songs. Do not get lost because of the melody.
90. Praise should not be forced, uniformed, mechanical and choreographed. It is personal!
91. Avoid rushing the congregation with ten songs for ten minutes. Let each song of praise sink deeply into the people’s hearts.
92. Avoid what we call ‘Break in Transmission’ in praise/worship. This is an act of stopping people of God in the middle of praise time.
93. What makes the difference between praise and worship is the tempo, beat and physical expressions.
94. As a praise/worship leader, you must always be yourself. You must also prepare spiritually, physically and mentally before leading God’s people into His presence. (Eph. 6:10-18)
95. Lead by faith and confidence.
96. Be a leader by example.
97. Be sensitive always to the Spirit as you lead. Don’t be ‘lost in the spirit ‘ and forget that you are praising as well as leading.
98. Praise should not be dull, slow, sluggish and distracting.
99. Avoid the idea of listing songs on paper and gazing at them while praising God. Let it flow from your spirit.
100. When you remove ‘P’ from praise you’ll get RAISE. Give Him the P (Praise) and get the raise. (Hab. 3:17-19)
Praise Ye the Lord!
Writer: Pastor Philip Adika