It's so funny how simple questions can bring the most powerful messages if viewed correctly. I was blessed to be able to talk to my daughter tonight on the phone after dinner and she asked an amazing question. to make a long story short, we were talking about the services that we attended at church this morning. It was a lot of excitement because of the celebration that was taking place and when I would gaze at her eyes, you can see the joy in them. Because I work on Sunday nights, I wasn't able to make the 11AM services but I do faithfully attend the 8AM services on Sunday mornings and when it's my weekend to have my daugther, her and I enjoy the service together. In the middle of our conversation she began to tell me about the 11AM service and she asked a simple question. She says, "Daddy, how many times can defeat the enemy?" I thought about it before I gave an answer because I wanted to hear what she had to says to me, "cause we defeated the enemy at both services today..." I sat there with my mouth open and got overwhelmed with joy because through all of the excitement that went on today, she knew at her age, that the enemy was defeated today. She saw the praises and the celebration unto God for herself and was able to declare along with everyone else, that the enemy was defeated. Then she says... "100 times daddy...". I smiled and said to her.... as many times as we want to. So then I asked her a question. I said "You know how we can defeat the enemy?"... and she says "yes.....through praying". I smiled again and wrote notes down. My daugther was teaching me something that she learned through witnessing God's power for herself.

I began to look in the scriptures and I began to shout in my office... First.... looks at Psalms 8:2

The New Living Translation reads:
² You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

This is assurance that when she spoke it out of her mouth, that the enemy was silenced. I look at around when I am in church and every now and then, you see a child praising and dancing before God. In their faces, you can see them smile and laugh, but in the spirit-realm, the enemy is silenced because of those little praises. Those little hallelujah's....

Then I read Matthew 21:16

The New Living Translations reads:

¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.”

It is pretty obvious what this scripture is saying to us... and if the Lord has taught little chilren how to praise, then there shouldn't be any excuse for us not to praise Him. I can recall in my mind a scripture that says " I once was young, but now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging for bread..."  I know it may appear that I went to left field on this topic but the message is "simple"....and that is to praise HIM anyway!!

What better way to begin the work week then with a praise... not worrying about formation or which way to step, but try just clapping your hands and saying Hallelujah.... lifting your voice for a moment and saying thank you Jesus.... or trying just jumping around a little. If you can't do that, then just think on the goodness of the Lord. Imagine yourself as that child, praising God.  We as adults are guilty because we have taken the innocency out of praise by limiting it to conditions. Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

Praise God for your breakthrough!

Praise God for your healing!

Praise God for your financial blessing!

Why NOT just praise God for for who He is and with no strings attached. This is how children praise Him. In their innocency they offer up praise to God that reaches His ears even before ours, because it's pure. The thing about us is if we would just praise Him just to praise Him...then those things that we need would fall in place. God would be so moved by the pureness of that praise that He would pour out His Spirit upon you. 

The next time a praise is evoked in the atmosphere at your church or even in your home; learn to take a lesson from a child and offer up praises with no blemishes. Even when we pray to God. Just talk to Him without asking for anything. Just let Him know how you feel about Him. Let Him know how much you love Him and thank Him for it. There is something about when a child gives you a hug. For those few seconds, it's like you forget about everything that is around you. It's the pureness that's in those hugs that puts a smile on your face and makes you not want to let go. When was the last time we just hugged God like that? 

Let's just take minute and just think about His goodness... don't ask Him for anything... just hug Him with your worship. For this moment, you allow God to put aside everything but a moment, and you put a smile of His glorious face....