As a young mother of a four and a one-year-old, my life was ruled by migraine headaches. Nothing killed the pain, and after an x-ray showed a shadow on my brain, my doctor sent me from our small town in Georgia to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. More x-rays (no CT scan or MRI in those days) and tests proved there was nothing physically wrong.

The doctor sent me home after a week, with a prescription for Triavil, an anti-depressant used also for headaches. He said that the medication would enable me to see through rose-colored glasses. When I look back, I realize that the time I spent in his counseling must have been a week of complaining about my life. Though I did not understand then what he meant by rose-colored glasses, I took the medication. In time, my headaches subsided. Triavil became my god because it got me through those days when I did not know who I was or my purpose in life.

During the ten years I took this medication, the Lord began to draw me to His Word. We attended church but there had been no connection for me with God. Reading the Bible became a new experience, one in which the Lord was speaking to my heart. In His timing, He brought a conviction that the medication was no longer needed; that He would be my God and do more for me than this medication had ever done. He was true to His Word and weaned me from the medication, continuing to teach me and lead me.

In 1992, years after He brought me to His Word, His Spirit did a marvelous work, giving me a new heart and a new life. A new life in the Spirit of Christ was His gift of grace that has worked until today for me to live in dependence upon Him. There is no place for me to complain about anything in my life; no reason to spend my time complaining about the world, the chaos, the evil, and the trials Jerry and I continue to experience.

The Lord, through His Word, has prescribed something more powerful than any medication can provide. His Word prescribes all that His children need in this world of degradation. We cannot change the world or our circumstances; only He can; and will, in His time.

His Spirit provides His grace within us to respond to all things according to His will; responses that prove who we are as His children – those that glorify Him.

His grace brings us to trust in Him for all things. Living in trust enables us to praise Him no matter the circumstances.

Consulting a physician usually results in some kind of treatment, a prescription that has proven in certain cases to solve the physical problem. God’s Word has been proven to solve spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical cases. His commands are not to be taken lightly. We should, as willingly as we accept a prescription from a physical doctor, accept what God prescribes for us as His people. We not only trust the doctor but also the pharmacist who fills the written prescription.

We accept God’s Word as His plan for our well-being and take His prescriptions to the throne of grace where His Son sits at His right hand to fill all that we bring to Him through His Holy Spirit. In His timing, He fulfills every promise He makes to us through His Word.

In Psalm 107, the same verse is quoted in verses 8, 15, 21, 31.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

.The Practice of Praise
From Psalm 113, we find reasons to praise and in these verses the command (prescription).

Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.

Rarely do we miss a dose of medication because we want to be well. We want to get over whatever ails us and so we take all medication that is prescribed every day. In the same way, we must begin and practice daily the habit of praise. We don’t just praise the Lord when all things are well. Especially when the difficult days come, we need this prescription more than at other times.

The beauty of praise is that it does not cost us anything. Our prescription plan was paid for on Calvary by the blood of Christ. He is the reason for the Spirit of praise that lives within us, working every day through the good days and the bad. Our circumstances change but God does not. Saying, “I praise you Lord” privately, or “Praise the Lord” where others hear, is one of the most blessed expressions the Holy Spirit works in us showing our trust in Him and to others.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

Why Should We Praise Him?
He is our God; Deuteronomy 10:21
Because of His righteousness:.Psalm 7:17
The Lord is worthy to be praised: Psalm 18:3
For God is the King of all the earth; Psalm 47:7
For the help of His countenance; Psalm 42:5
Praise glorifies God; Psalm 50:23
To honor His name; Psalm 66:2
Because of His word; Psalm 56:10
For His strength, and his wonderful works; Psalm 78:4
Praise is comely; Psalm 147:1
We are accepted in the beloved; Ephesians 1:6
We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;  called out of darkness into his marvellous light; 1 Peter 2:9
His truth endures for ever; Psalm 117:2
For His power; Psalm 21:13
The Lord is my strength and my shield; Psalm 28:7.
For His mighty acts and excellent greatness; Psalm 150:2

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psalm 63:3

Where Should We Praise Him?
We should praise Him among the heathen Psalm 18:49 that others may see, fear and trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3; to the ends of the earth; Psalm 48:10; among the people and nations; Psalm 57:9; in His sanctuary: Psalm 150:1

Who Can Praise Him?
The upright; Psalm 33:1 the poor and needy; Psalm 74:21; His people and sheep of His pasture; Psalm 79:13; the people He formed for Himself; Isaiah 43:21; the meek; Psalm 22:26; those who fear the Lord; Psalm 22:23

When Should We Praise Him?
We should praise at all times; Psalm 34:1; all the day long; Psalm 35:28; Psalm 44:8; continually; Psalm 71:6; Hebrews 13:15; every day; Psalm 145:2; when we have learned His righteous judgments ; Psalm 119:7

 Let us study what our Lord has written for us; the prescription for praise will change our hearts and minds during the times of trial. We can know His grace and peace when we learn to praise Him every day even in times of despair.

Dear heavenly Father, you have given us every reason to praise you. You have given us a proven prescription for all the earthly ills that plague us. By your Holy Spirit, work in us the power of your Word to thank you and to offer the sacrifice of praise to you; the fruit of our lips as we continue to trust you at all times. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Fran
Related Article: The Glad Rule