From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Psalm 71:8 says Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.
We are to be praising the Lord at ALL times. No circumstance we go through will ever change that. This word by Kathi Pelton is "praise worthy" to ponder and read. I sure like the visions and experiences she had with the Lord at His banqueting table. He truly does desire to give us the desires of our heart...oh yes, He does!
Here are also a couple of resources that will benefit you on your journey of praise and worship:
Kathi Pelton:
An Invitation into Praise
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You. On my bed I remember You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise Him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.—Psalm 63
The Invitation of El Shaddai
I love these words King David wrote! In the midst of a great storm, he knows that God is worthy of praise. It is clear when he wrote these words, he was in a place of pain and longing. David was desperate in his soul and body to "drink" more deeply of the Lord. But, in the midst of great longing he remembers the times that he has "beheld" God's power and glory. He encourages himself with the truth of who God is and the fact that God is continually there to help him. As I read Psalm 68, I note that it is an invitation to those who are thirsty with longing for more of Him: "Come and drink; you will not be disappointed!"
If you feel that you are in a dry and weary land, hold out your "cup of praise" and let the contents pour out upon His feet. I truly believe that, in turn, you will find that your cup is refilled with all you need from Him! God is inviting His Bride into a place of partaking of Him. The desperate longing has produced a surrender that has broken many of His people free from things that have kept them from finding their satisfaction in Him.
A nursing mother does not hand her baby off to others to be nursed, for she longs for the intimacy of those tender times that her baby is satisfied with the richness of the food she can provide through her nurturing. God, El Shaddai ("the many breasted one"), is like that with us. Though many of us are no longer nursing infants, still He longs to nurture us like a mother with her infant, and His jealousy is provoked when others try to feed and nurture us with foods that will never satisfy. The nurturing God is inviting us to eat and drink of the richness of His love and presence, His power and glory.
A Vision of the Banqueting Table
My husband and I love to go out to a particular beach on the Northern California coast to have times together with the Lord. This place has become a place of revelation for us. Whenever we go, we find that He is there waiting for us to speak face to face. This past week we took a day to go there together, and it seemed only moments after we arrived I became very aware that we were in another place in the spirit. Though my physical eyes were looking out upon the vast Pacific Ocean, my spiritual eyes were aware that we were sitting at the Lord's banqueting table.
As soon as I was aware of this, I saw the Father stand up at the head of the table. He picked up a glass and tapped a spoon against it to draw attention to Himself. The table was massive, longer than I could see in its entirety, but the attention of all who were seated there was given to Him. Then the Father began to introduce my husband and I to the assembled guests and asked us to stand. As we stood the Father said, "I am the One who grants your desires. What do you want?"
Even as we physically sat at the ocean, our spirits stood up at His banqueting table. We became very still and chose our words carefully, remembering what Solomon asked for, what Esther asked for, and what Hannah asked for in her desperation. Through this experience, I've become keenly aware that the Lord is "preparing a table for us in the presence of our enemies." This was our first experience of being at this table.
The experience that we had has literally changed my life. It was like I ate joy that day. I was so overjoyed just to know that I was at His table, I almost couldn't speak. I was aware that He already knew my desires and my longings, but He was honoring us by allowing us to speak them before the entire company assembled there. I have never felt more like His daughter than in that moment, and I have never felt more confident of His love and promises over my life. In that moment it became more about His desire than ours! It was one of those "spirit to spirit" moments where you cannot decipher between your desire and His...they become one.
The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.—Psalm 23
I am more aware than ever before that His goodness and love follow me each and every day. Though there are times circumstances and adversaries arise against me, I can give myself permission to "fear no evil."
The Praise Protection
More than anything else I am hearing at this time, I continue to hear "Praise, praise, praise!" I find myself spending most of my prayer time in praise. Whenever a need or a prayer request comes my way, I open my mouth and, instead of normal intercession for the specific request coming forth, I find that praise comes forth. After praising for a while the prayer burden will have lifted and I will feel confident of the answer coming forth.
I was asking the Lord about this and He took me into a wonderful vision that I hope will help you as well. In the vision I saw a huge orchard of cherry trees. The trees were full of fruit which were not quite ripe but nearing the harvesting stage. I was aware that this is the time when the worms of the ground and birds of the air attack the fruit and eat it.
Then I saw praise come up from the orchard (as if the trees were praising), and as the praise was released many angels came and gathered the harvest in what looked like a net in the sky. As the net filled, the angels would release the "praise" back down over the orchard; it was like a pesticide against the things that could harm the fruit. The net (which may have been the angel's wings) guarded the trees from the birds of the air that would eat the fruit. Praise became the key to protecting the harvest. This was incredibly encouraging for me. Praise is like a "pesticide" against the enemies of the Lord.
In 2 Chronicles 20 we read about a vast army coming against Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat sought the Lord, along with the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, regarding what they were to do and asked the Lord to help them. This was the Lord's reply:
He said, "Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!"—2 Chronicles 20:16-17
King Jehoshaphat believed what the Lord had spoken through the prophets! This is what happened the next morning:
After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising Him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
"Give thanks to the LORD; His faithful love endures forever!"
At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.—2 Chronicles 20:21-24
I love this story! It is not just a story of old, but it is our story today. Not only was every one of the enemies destroyed, but King Jehoshaphat and all of Judah took days to carry away the plunder left behind! It is as if the prophets of old, who spoke in the presence of Jehoshaphat, are speaking and prophesying over us again today, telling us to stand and see the salvation of the Lord on our behalf as we praise.
It is time to put our trust in the Lord our God and to believe those words spoken again, "Do not be afraid!"
Sing! Sing to the Lord and praise Him for His holy splendor! His faithful love endures forever!
Kathi Pelton
Light Streams Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
