Redux means to revisit, bring back, re-release. This last week of 2014, we—the bloggers here at Girlfriends Coffee Hour—are each ‘revisiting’ a blog we wrote earlier this year.  We would love to share with you just a bit about how very good God has been to us!  He has given us all so much grace and mercy, blessings and provision, protection and guidance!  He has led us and taught us through His Holy Spirit so many incredible things!  He has molded, and chastised, and encouraged us to be daughters with humble hearts who are dependent upon Him.  And He has helped us to be strong, committed, and faithful women who love Him and desire to bring Him much honor and glory and majesty.  We pray that our words would encourage you also…and draw You deeper into relationship with the One Who loves you so!

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<sigh!>  I have sat at my keyboard pondering and wondering just what to write as I reflect back on this past year.  Choosing which song to ‘redux’…that part was easy!  Singing praises to our wonderful God is one of the major joys of my heart!  As Pastor Hezekiah Walker says, ‘I don’t care how you’re feeling right now…sing HalleluJAH!’  and he is absolutely right.  Truly, it doesn’t matter what is going on in my life today…I can and should and WILL praise God in the midst of it.

2014 has been the most difficult time of my life…ever.  No doubt.  Situations and circumstances have seemed unbearable at times.  Temptations and trials have been abundant and stressful.  There has been much heartache and sadness; more than I thought I could handle.

But God…

But God never left me, He never forsook me, He never ever stopped loving me and holding me up with His mighty Hand.  But God was my Deliverer, my Savior, my Healer!  But God comforted, encouraged, provided, helped me.  I had much opportunity to <continually> confess these precious verses:

[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed
that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!
Wait and hope for and expect the Lord;
be brave and of good courage
and let your heart be stout and enduring.
Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
Psalms 27:13 and 14

But God was always there!  I did ‘wait for’ and  ‘expect the Lord.’  And I praised Him…and continue to praise Him now.   Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, deserves  the praise and worship of His people.  In every situation, in any circumstance…no matter what…God is to be praised!  I look forward, with joyful anticipation, to 2015 because I know there will be much to praise God for!  I pray that you, also, will recognize God’s blessings, and His Presence in your life, and His provision…and sing out your praises, too.    ♥

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Hey now!  Chair dancing is just NOT going to be good enough with this moving and inspiring song!  Are your toes tapping…head bobbing…shoulders jiving…hands clapping?  Up on your feet!  Use your whole self—hands, arms, feet…and mind, heart, voice! Allow your WHOLE self to fully engage in giving ‘every praise!’ to your God!  Sing HalleluJAH!

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Every praise is to our God
Every word of worship with one accord
Every praise every praise is to our God
Sing Hallelujah to our God
Glory Hallelujah is due our God
Every praise every praise is to our God

God my Savior
God my Healer
God my Deliverer
Yes He is, yes He is

Praise sung by Hezekiah Walker and friends
Songwriters: Hezekiah Walker and J. David Bratton

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Our God—our Savior, our Healer, our Deliverer—deserves all the praise there is to give!

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can show forth all the praise [that is due Him]?
Psalms 106:1 and 2

Truly, no one can…that is why all of the praise of all of the peoples throughout all time is required to ‘show forth all the praise…’!

Throughout the Scriptures there are many records of God’s people praising and worshipping Him—the object of their every praise. For example,

• Moses praising with the children of Israel praising God Almighty for the miraculous way He saved them from the Egyptians (Exodus 15)
• David worshipping with the people of Jerusalem when the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16)

Each of these show us wonderful examples of these Old Testament believers and their hearts to praise the Great I AM!  However, I just love the praises that are given to God by Daniel…and the king, Nebuchadnezzar…recorded in the Book of Daniel.  Here is one prayer of praise and worship Daniel prayed after God gifted him with wisdom and explanations of King Nebudchednezzar’s dream.

Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever! For wisdom and might are His! He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding! He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him! I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might and has made known to me now what we desired of You, for You have made known to us the solution to the king’s problem.

Daniel 2:19-23

Just like in this song we are inspired by today, Daniel sang out his ‘HalleluJAH!’ and gave all the praise to his God!  What can we see in Daniel’s prayer of praise?  First, he praised God. Then he acknowledged Who God is and that He is in-charge and in control—‘He changes the times and the seasons…He removes…and sets up kings.’ And that all wisdom and knowledge are His. And then Daniel thanked and praised God for giving him wisdom and might.

Later on, given the mighty and miraculous acts seen (as well as the humbling that Nebuchadnezzar received), he had much praise to give to God, too.  He lifted his praise of the Most High God before all the peoples of his kingdom.

It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed toward me.
How great are His signs! And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.

And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding and the right use of my mind returned to me; and I blessed the Most High [God] and I praised and honored and glorified Him Who lives forever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion; and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, What are You doing? Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, Whose works are all faithful and right and Whose ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase and humble.

Daniel 4:2 and 3, 34-37

And, of course, there are many, many, many additional accounts throughout the Scriptures of praise and worship being offered to the One Who deserves every praise—our Great God!

Every praise is to our God
Sing Hallelujah to our God
Glory! Hallelujah! is due our God
Every praise, every praise is to our God!

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I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart;
before the gods will I sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name
for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness;
for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your Word
and You have magnified Your Word above all Your name!
Psalms 138:1 and 2