Powerful, Personal Praise

Powerful, Personal Praise by Becky Harling

When I come to this psalm in my daily Bible reading, I love to slow down and take a few days to just luxuriate in the richness of the promises that are found all throughout the psalm. It's a great psalm to use in personal worship. Here are some of the ways you can use this psalm in your personal praise time...

Praise God for His Character Traits
Throughout this psalm, David uses word pictures to describe the greatness of God's character. He writes that the Lord is his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his shield, the horn of his salvation, his stronghold (Psalm. 18:1-2). Go through the psalm and circle all the word pictures David uses and then use those phrases to praise God. Each word picture gives a deeper understanding of God's character.

At times life can feel overwhelming. As you praise God for His character traits using word pictures to describe them, your faith will grow stronger and peace will overwhelm your sense of helplessness, your sense of frustration, your sense of despair.

Lord Jesus, I praise You that You are a rock of faithfulness in my life. I praise You that You are my deliverer, and that when I feel attacked by the enemy You are my defense. I praise You that You act as a shield around my mind. When negative thoughts threaten my joy, You are my shield. I praise You that you have been a stronghold of faithfulness to which I can continually come.

Praise God by remembering and thanking Him for all He's done for you already. Throughout Psalm 18, David remembers and praises God for delivering him from the hands of Saul. "He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me" (Psalm. 18:16-17).

Who or what is the "Saul" in your life? It could be that the Lord has rescued you from depression or darkness. It could be that the Lord has delivered you from fear. It could be that He has kept you alive through life threatening diseases like cancer, or that He has rescued you from financial ruin. Take time to remember.

Lord Jesus, I praise You that when I felt hopeless, You rescued me and brought me up from the pit of despair. You set my feet on solid ground when it felt like the earth was shaking. Thank You that when my worries were many, You brought me peace. When my fears felt crippling, You bolstered my faith. I praise You, Lord Jesus.

Praise Him for the promises tucked in the Psalm, just as David writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he give us promises that we can cling to. Read through the psalm and underline the promises. Then use those promises to prompt your praise. For example: "For You will cause my lamp to shine" (Psalm 18:28).

Lord Jesus, I praise You that when life feels dark, You are the light of the world. You promise to turn my darkness into light. Thank You, Lord Jesus.

"For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap a wall," (Psalm 18:29).

What wall are you facing this week? A big project? A family situation? A financial crisis? A move?

Lord Jesus, I praise You that with Your help I can scale the wall in front of me. Help me to remember that as I face challenges, You have gone before me to empower and enable me to do impossible things through Your strength. Thank You that You are for me and not against me. I praise You in advance for how You will work in my life.

Friend, spend some time just reading, underlining, circling, and marking key verses in Psalm 18. Use it as a pattern for your praise. As you internalize Scripture, you'll find your thinking will change.