It’S in Your Praise!: Hope: Holiness. Obedience. Power. Expectancy.

By Donna Renay Patrick

Award-winning author Donna Renay Patrick fuses praise, worship, and HOPE together. Its in Your Praise! speaks of HOPE not as mere desire but as holiness, obedience, power, and expectancy. When we offer to God genuine praise, we can expect a changed perspective toward each of these things. When our praise is real, then inner transformation is inevitable.

For too long we have given God religion instead of relationship, great music instead of surrendered worship. In the chapter The Call to Worship Revisited, see the difference between words on the Sunday bulletin and a mindset of total worship. In the chapter A Praise Unlimited, learn how to create an attitude shift when you speak out Gods praises on a regular basis.

There is a definite connection between your private praise and your public praise. Its in Your Praise! will help you to embrace the connection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490864358

Donna Renay Patrick

Donna Renay Patrick is an author, musician, worship leader, and educator. She earned a master of arts in Christian education from Dallas Baptist University and a bachelor of science degree from Bishop College. Her book, At All Times, received the 2013 Christian Literary Award in the devotional category. She lives in Lewisville, Texas.

Book preview

Keep Walking, Keep Standing

In every thing, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(I Thessalonians 5:18, NASB)

Truth be known, we all struggle with something. God has reasons for taking us down different roads than we originally planned to travel. The foremost reason is because He is God. His ways are higher than our ways, and He can see much farther down the road than we can. He also loves us too much to ever send us out into the world unprepared. And even though we want something so badly God knows that there may be something inside of us that He must change because we can’t take those things with us into His plans. And sixth, learn to be thankful.

A friend helped me to understand (and therefore, get somewhere and sit down) that if something happens in my time, it won’t be successful. But if it happens in God’s time, it will be.

If you’re waiting for your plans to manifest, you may be waiting for a long time. Pray that your plans and God’s plans match up. Pray for a heart that wants what God wants for you, and also trust God’s wisdom. The blessing will be yours every time.

In the meantime, keep walking in God’s purpose for you, and keep standing on the promises found in His Word.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1.  What’s your current inward struggle?

2.  What have you had to leave behind on your way to finding God’s purpose for your life?

3.  Have you ever doubted whether God had a plan for your life?

Watchman Worship (The Sanctified Worshipper)

A spiritually sleepless worshipper is a sanctified worshipper. Real worshippers are sanctified because we understand it’s a serious matter to worship in spirit and truth. We also understand that worshipping the Father is part of His purpose for every believer. Sanctified worshippers understand that worship isn’t just something we do; it’s who we are as believers in Jesus Christ.

Those who are spiritually sleepless are always watching for God’s movement in the body of Christ, and in their individual lives. That’s one reason the role of the praise team, if you have one in your church, is so important. These individuals can’t only look like worshippers on Sunday morning; the worship has to be real to them on a daily basis.

In biblical history, cities were fortified, or surrounded, by high, sturdy walls. There were usually watchmen stationed atop these walls. Part of their job was to stand guard and warn of an approaching enemy. The prophets of Israel saw themselves as watchmen to warn the people of God’s judgment if they didn’t repent.

There’s an interesting reference found in Proverbs 8:34 that says, Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. This passage speaks of following Godly wisdom, but can it also be applied to our worship? The apostle Peter admonishes us to be on the alert because our adversary, the devil, seeks someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus told us to be watchful in expectation of His coming (Matthew 24:42).

When we worship God on a regular basis our spirits are sensitized to what God is doing. Our intentional worship of God, especially at the private level, keeps us alert because we’re always tuned in to Him and watching with expectancy for God’s movement and direction.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1.  How much time have you spent watching for God’s movement in your life or the lives of those you love?

2.  How do you feel about Peter’s admonition that we stay alert? (1 Peter 5:8)

3.  As cities were fortified in the Bible, how are you fortifying your spirit?

Comfort, Chaos, and Creativity

But He gives more grace. . .

(James 4:6(a))

Don’t ever think that God doesn’t move in chaos. Life brings chaos to all of us, regardless of how saved you are, or how hard you pray.

Today’s devotional is for those who see so much in your spirit, but haven’t yet seen the physical manifestation of God. I know what it is to see something so plainly in your spirit, but for reasons of His own God keeps you waiting. It can be overwhelming.

I believe one reason God places us in chaotic situations is for us to make a positive difference in those places. Sometimes it’s to keep our attention on Him and what’s truly important in light of eternity as opposed to what doesn’t really matter. When you think about it, God really doesn’t develop us in comfort, but in chaos. If you can get your mind off the chaos you’ll get creative. Ideas will start coming. The Holy Spirit will show you a new direction.

Before you run from the chaos in your life, stand still and think a minute. If you play it right the chaos will run from you because you’re so busy exploring new ideas, new avenues, and new solutions that you no longer have time to focus on the discomfort of the chaos.

Here’s my point: learn to praise God in the chaos and get in position because God is birthing something in you. Good leaders aren’t formed in comfort but in chaos. Remember, the eyes haven’t seen, and the ears haven’t heard all the good things God has in store

(1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1.  When was the last time you had to deal with chaos in any area of your life?

2.  Could you see God’s hand in the chaos?

3.  How did God use you to make a difference?

The Blessing of Closed Doors

Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

(Isaiah 46:9-10, NIV)

Declaring the end from the beginning,. . .

(Isaiah 46:10, KJV)

Has God ever shut down your plans? I believe you can testify to the fact that, at some point in your life you made plans, had everything in place, and had considered any unforeseen snafus, or so you thought.

Recently I heard a well-known pastor basically say, "rejection is protection and direction." When we walk close to God and surrender our lives to Him, there are times when God will shut doors that we thought should have been opened. It’s all about perspective. We may feel that God wronged us by closing that door. However, looking at it from a spiritual perspective, God had His reasons for not allowing you to go any further into that particular scenario. We can’t see down the road like God can.

In today’s text, He tells us that He sees the end from the beginning. God knows where we belong and where we don’t. He knows the what, why, when, and how of our lives. He knows the secrets of our hearts. He knows every desire, every longing, every anxiety, all the questions, everything. God invites us to trust Him even when we can’t see what He’s doing. God will sometimes close certain doors in our lives to teach us to raise our thinking to a spiritual level.

If you know you live under divine authority yet God has shut a door in some area of your life and you don’t understand why, I invite you to take a closer look at the situation. Begin to praise God because He stopped you from making a big mistake. Perhaps you were headed right into a moving train, and God blocked it. Thank God that He has your back at all times and in all places! Trust God because He knows the end from the beginning.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1.  Have you experienced a time when God changed your plans? How did you handle the change?

2.  Can you think of a time when you found it difficult to trust God when He closed a door?

3.  Did you ever question God about why He changed your plans?

Doing vs. Being (In the Context of Worship)

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

(Isaiah 29:13, NIV) (Also see Matt. 15:8)

I can already hear what some of you are thinking, so let me quickly get to my point. There’s a difference between being and doing. There’s a difference between the churchgoer and the worshipper. Going to church every Sunday doesn’t make you a worshipper; only regular, intentional, surrendered time spent in God’s presence does that.

We can do worship things, such as stand, clap, and lift our hands when the worship leader tells us to. But what are we thinking about at the time? Is my mind truly on God and seeking His presence in the sanctuary of my heart? We might say, But God knows my heart. Yes, He does, but do you know His heart? I believe that’s where the disconnect comes. God made us and knows all our secrets, but have we sought Him enough to learn His heart? What kind of worship does He require? What is His expectation of

Reviews for It’S in Your Praise!

[arlenadean · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Title: It's in Your Praise!: HOPE: Holiness. Obedience. Power. Expectancy.Author: Donna Renay PatrickPublisher: WestBow PressReviewed By: Arlena DeanRating: FiveReview:"It's in Your Praise!: HOPE: Holiness. Obedience. Power. Expectancy" by Donna Renay PatrickMy Thoughts....This was a beautifully well written novel that gives us 'HOPE: Holiness...Obedience....Power and Expectancy.' And its all in your Praise! I loved how this author was able to bring each of those words out so well in her presentation to the reader that will definitely challenge you in your daily life to "re-think your praise and worship from a Biblical perceptive." . Each chapter gives one a uplifting feeling in the chapters...like "Keep Walking, Keep Standing, Praise Is Not Just For "Them" It's For You Too, For Hopeless to Hallelujah, Sing a Song of Worship, The Earth Is the Lord's, and The Struggle''to name a few. These and more of the chapters presented in this read are very powerful ones that are backed up with scriptures and words from this author that bring it all out so well to the reader. So, is there a 'connection between your private praise and your public praise?' There is so much to be learned from this read that I will only say that you must pick up "It's in Your Praise' to see for yourself how well this author delivers it to her readers. I was left knowing...'It's in Your Praise' and knowing it's OK to take this higher in my praise and worship to God. Yes, this is a Christian read that I would definitely recommend to you as a wonderful read.