Engaging the Covenant of Thanksgiving & Praise!

The Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:2-3).

We understand from scriptures that every prophecy from God is ordained for fulfilment at an appointed time. Concerning Abraham, God said: I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him (Genesis 18:10).

“According to the time of life” in the above scripture connotes nine months. In order words, God prophesied to Abraham that in nine months, Sarah will surely have a son. Unquestionably, we saw that prophecy fulfilled in the life of Abraham. As it is written:

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him(Genesis 21:1-2).

The above scripture validates the truth that every prophetic agenda from God is for an appointed time and at the end, good reports must speak.

However, it is important to know that every prophecy attracts oppositions from the pit of hell. As it is written: For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9).

For instance, when God prophesied the victory of Israel in strange lands, He said:

Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle(Deuteronomy 2:24).

This helps us to understand that until we contend with oppositions in battle, we would not see prophecies fulfilled in our lives. Unfortunately, many people wait for prophecies to fulfil themselves instead of engaging in spiritual warfare for its fulfilment. As a result, they waste away. Therefore, we must arise and contend with every opposition on our paths until we see prophecies fulfilled. However, we must recognize that fasting and prayer is not the only means through which we engage in spiritual warfare; praise is also a proven weapon of warfare in scriptures. For instance, we saw in scriptures how Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah engaged the mystery of praise to see prophecy fulfilled (2chronicles 20:14-24).

In that account, the Bible records that as they sang and praised God, He stepped in and all their enemies were smitten, and no one escaped. This makes us understand that praise warfare engenders the fulfilment of prophecies cheaply (Psalms 22:3).

Also, in the account about Abraham, the Bible states that: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).

This helps us to know that thanksgiving and praise is a spiritual weapon for provoking the raw manifestations of the power of God.

Let’s examine the Covenant of Thanksgiving and Praise.

It is important to know that the word ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Testament simply means ‘old’ and ‘new’covenant. Thus, the Bible is a book of covenants. That is, God has wonder packages for everyone, but only deliverable when we play our part. One of the ways we fulfil our part is by engaging the mystery of thanksgiving and praise to see God’s hand in our affairs.

Some of the covenant of thanksgiving include:

Preservation of blessings: Our blessings are neither insured nor secured without thanksgiving. However, by giving God thanks, we commit Him to preserve His blessings in our lives. As it is written: If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a ,curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart (Malachi 2:2).
God has ordained that whatever He does shall be forever, but we must engage the covenant of thanksgiving to commit Him to perform.

Perfects the Blessings: The Bible says: The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me… (Psalms 138:8).
For instance, when that leper returned to glorify God, he was made perfectly whole (Luke 17:17-19).
Multiplication of Blessings: Every multiplication desired requires that we engage in thanksgiving for it to deliver. Jesus gave thanks and the five loaves of bread and two fishes multiplied supernaturally (John 6:11).
Also, we are seeds of Abraham and God has ordained that every seed of Abraham be multiplied a thousand times more. However, we must engage the mystery of thanksgiving and praise for it to be delivered in our lives (Deuteronomy 1:11; Galatians 3:29; Jeremiah 30:19).

Therefore, when we engage these terms, it becomes a covenant between us and God, and as such becomes binding on God to perform.

How does praise facilitate the fulfilment of prophecies?

First, we must understand that no human capacity or strategy has the ability to fulfil prophecies, except by the hand of God. It is written:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it (1 Kings 8:15; see also Genesis 15:13-15).

It takes the hand of God to fulfil God’s plan, but to see His hand, we must engage the mystery of praise. This is because every prophetic word fully delivers on the platform of praise. For instance, we understand from scriptures that when Paul and Silas prayed, and sang aloud, God came down and there was a great earthquake. As a result, their shame was converted to glory at the instance of praise (Acts 16:25-26).

As such, we must restrain from running helter skelter, seeking for solution where there is none. Instead, we should invoke the hand of God and we would see prophecies fulfilled easily in our lives. We also discover from scriptures that praise is the spiritual platform for provoking the raw manifestations of God in our lives.

A vital aspect of praise warfare is praising God in the dance.

As it is written: Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation (Psalms 149:3-4).

Praising God in the dance is one way to bless God with all that is within us. Let’s recognize that there is power in praising God in the dance. The Psalmist also admonishes us to bless the Lord with all that is within us. However, it is not just dancing, but dancing with all our might (Psalms 103:1; 2 Samuel 6:14, 16, 23).

Again, the Bible says: Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord (Psalms 149:6-9).

From the above scripture, the “two-edged sword” is the Word of God. Therefore, we must dance with the understanding of what the Word says. As we praise Him in the dance, we execute vengeance upon our enemies. The Bible records that David danced with all his might and he never lost any battle throughout his reign as king. Therefore, the rougher we dance, the stronger the judgment. Thus, spiritual warfare is not only in prayer and fasting, but also includes praise warfare (2 Samuel 6:14).

Furthermore, dancing unto the Lord provokes divine favour. From scriptures, we understand that David, the praise addict, walked in divine favour throughout his life time. He danced before the Lord with all his might such that he was mocked by Michal his wife. Also, remember that when Herodias’ daughter danced to please the king, she secured divine favour such that Herod gave her an open cheque to ask for anything, even to the half of his kingdom and it would be done. Likewise, whenever we dance our way into God’s heart, we provoke divine favour (2 Samuel 6:16, 23; Mark 6:22-23).

All these examples point to the fact that our lives will be desolate and unfruitful without engaging the covenant of thanksgiving and praise (Psalms 89:34).

In conclusion, God is never late and He is ever ready to fulfil every prophetic word concerning us. However, it takes our personal praise to secure our personal victory. In other words, to see God in raw action, we must give Him raw praise. This is because we cannot secure His manifest presence except by praise. Hence, every prophetic agenda is cheaply deliverable by securing the hand of God in our lives and that is possible by praise; for God only inhabits the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3; 2Chronicles 20:13-17).

Therefore, as we praise God, we must expect the balance of God’s prophetic agenda for 2015 to be delivered in our lives. Remain ever blessed.

Jesus is Lord!

Prophetic Blessings!