Mensa Otabil - All Praise Belongs to God
- Watch
- Donate
Day number 39, the last but one day of our 40 days of power. To God be the glory. Great things He has done. He has led us from the beginning, and we are almost at the end of our 40 days of power.
Psalm 118:4 and 5: Let those who fear the Lord now say, «His mercy endures forever. I called on the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.» Psalm 118 is a thanksgiving psalm, and it reminds us of the love of God with a chorus. He is good, and His mercy endures. The Lord’s mercy endures forever. The psalmist recounts testimony after testimony of God’s deliverance. And when you read throughout the psalm, it’s about God’s deliverance, and then He brings the refrain of His mercy endures forever. And so, when you read the psalm, you get the impression that this is a psalm that was sung in procession as people entered the temple in Jerusalem. These will be the songs they sing as they celebrate the Lord and thank Him.
Today, as we come to the conclusion of our 40 days of power, we want to enter the procession of praise and say His mercy endures forever. Three things that the psalmist reminds us: He says, «I called on the Lord. I called on the Lord.» Uh, and in my distress, and that word distress means to be in a narrow place, a straight place, a restricted place, or in a tight corner. I called on the Lord when I was in a tight corner. I called on the Lord when I was in distress. And that is prayer. That’s what it is referencing-prayer. And that’s what we’ve been doing. Some of us have prayed in distress.
That’s the first thing. Then the second thing the psalmist says: He answered me. God is a prayer-answering God. We don’t talk to the air when we are talking to God. We are talking to the Most High God, the King of the universe, the Creator of all things. He hears and He answers prayer. I believe that because He answers prayer, your testimonies will explode on the left, on the right, ahead of you. You are being ushered into a harvest of miracles and a season of testimonies. The psalmist says that because the Lord heard me and He answered me, He set me in a broad place. He prayed when he was in distress, in a narrow place; when God answered, He set him in a broad place. That’s what the psalmist is saying.
So, we start praying in distress-it’s a narrow space. We are constricted; we are restricted; we don’t know where to turn. But when God answers, He opens the space, He opens doors, He gives access. May the Lord give you a broad place. I believe we will have our broad place testimonies of what God has done to enlarge us, to expand us, to open us up, and to open opportunities we never thought existed. You have been in a narrow place for a very long time. But today, God is bringing you to a broad place. He’s expanding you. He is growing you. He is increasing you. And each of us who have cried to the Lord, this is going to be our testimony.
And that is why we praise Him. That’s why we worship Him. That is why we declare the praise of the Lord, because He is a good God. He’s a prayer-answering God. He has taken us from the narrow place and brought us into the broad place. I want your heart to be full of gratitude. I want your heart to be full of joy. I want your heart to be full of love for God for taking us through this time and for being the God who hears us, who answers us, and who brings us to the broad place. You’ve already entered a broad place. Praise the Lord for it.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, You are a prayer-answering God. Thank You for turning my life around and giving me a testimony in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen.»