Praises in the Time of God’s Grace

Verses: Prayer of Azariah 1 : 23 - 68

My thoughts about the verses:

You have to understand that Meshach, Shedrach and Abednego were in great distress.   They had followed their call to God and had not bowed down to the statue the king has built.  They lived their faith and had accepted their destiny was in the hand of their God.  They knew if they lived or died they had been faithful.  They had no fear because they knew they had lived with God as the central point of everything that they did.

Nebuchadnezzar on the other hand was so filled with anger that he decided to turn up the heat.  He added more and more burning material in the fire.  He wanted them to pay for their outright attack on him.  He felt that they stood up to him and he could not just let this pass.  If they were to live it would affect how people would respect him.  He had to prove to those that might stand up to him that there were grave consequences for anyone that went against the King.

They have prayed to God.  Abednego has just spent time in a deep long dialogue with God.  He had accepted if his death could be the sacrifice needed for the community to be forgiven he would willingly go to his death.  He had prayed for God’s will be done.  He came with a heart full of remorse to the foot of God to pray for forgiveness and for salvation for the community, his friends and himself.

God heard the prayers.  You can almost see the relief that fills these children of God as a fourth man appears within the fire.  They didn’t have to second guess what was happening.  They knew that God had heard their cries.  They knew that God was freeing them from bondage.  God would be there to the end with them.  God was going to show the ultimate power of the true living God to Nebuchadnezzar.  These three men’s life would be the testimony of the power of the Living God.

They then begin singing praises to God.  They start by praising all the power and authority that is God.  They encourage us to exalt the power of God.  This part of their praise is to lift up all parts of God and the Heavenly Realm.  We must always remember as we pray and praise God that we need to be thankful for the very power of God.

They then call on all the things that God has created to praise God.  You have to imagine the King was very upset at this point hearing these three men stating that God created all.  They were calling on the creation to praise the Living God.  The God they served was not handmade.  Instead their God was the creator.  When we praise the things of creation we are bringing majesty to God.  In our praise of God we are bringing majesty to the world that God has created.  The living God has the power.  Nothing has the power or the authority that God has and we need to praise God for the gift of Creation that has been given to us.

They then call on all people to praise God.  The creation has praised God and now we need to lift our voice up to God.  God’s works are all around us and we need to lift our voices up in praise.  No one should feel as if their status is too low to praise God.It is pointed out that every person should thank God for the gift of love and life.  We should lift our praises and thanks up to the Most High.  We need to worship God for God is worthy to be praised and exalted.

It is not until the end of their praises that they thank God for their deliverance.  Think about this a moment they have encouraged us to praise God for God is magnificent. 

The creation that God has made needs to worship God.  We in turn need to thank God for creation.  The people that God has made need to lift their voices up to God.  They need to thank God for the gifts that have been given to them.

It is after all of these praises that they accept that God’s will is they walk out of the fiery furnace untouched.  The King has to look at them and feel the power of God.  He knew that it would take a living God to save them.  He knew that he only threw three people in the fire.  Yet, he too had seen the fourth man.  He had to acknowledge God had saved them.  Their God was more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar.  Their God was more powerful than the King’s god.  He had to accept that God was the true living God.

In our life we are faced with many situations.  We have to accept that God is the creator of the universe.  We have to acknowledge that everything that happens in our life occurs because of the power of God.  Christians have to accept that they must follow God no matter what obstacle has been put in front of them.  In those times that we are confronted with turning away from God or following God we must choose God first.  We cannot ever allow outside forces push us away from God. 

When we are helped we must praise God.  When we awake we must praise God.  When we see the beauty of the world we must praise God.  In all things praise God no matter what the world is throwing our way.

Prayer:

We praise you O Holy God.  We praise you for your creation.  We praise you for your ever enduring love.  We thank you for never walking away from us.  We give you praises before anything else.  In the name of the Almighty we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you thank God for all of your life?  Have you accepted the gift of the creation that God has given to you?  Have you praised God for the creation around you?  Is there anything that you need to praise God for today that you have not?