In our church service every Sunday, we have a time when we solicit prayer requests, praise reports and testimonies from those in the congregation. As I tell the congregation, it is a time to create opportunities for us to walk arm and arm with each other by getting to know each other better, understand how we can lift up one another, or celebrate together. In general, most of what is offered are prayer requests, followed by praise reports, then on a rare occasion someone will offer up a testimony. What I find fascinating about this is that, on countless occasions, I have witnessed one person lift up a praise report from one part of the church, only to have someone from the other side of the church lift up a prayer request dealing with essentially the same thing.
We all have much to celebrate in our lives, but we often shy away from proclaiming that in public. I know that some people keep their good news to themselves because they know that others are going through hard times and they don’t want to sound like they are boasting about their blessings. Yet sometimes the exact thing that someone who is going through hardship needs to hear is that it is possible to get through the situation that is staring them in the face – not with a theoretical explanation, but by sharing a personal triumph. Someone who has come through the end of a long and dark tunnel understands what it is like to walk freely outside of that tunnel, enter into it, wander in what seems like never-ending darkness, and then see a glimmer of light that grows brighter and brighter.
Yes, a praise report is an opportunity to praise God for His goodness and mercy regarding something particular. It is always appropriate to express gratitude, so we should be encouraged to do just that. But a praise report can become so much more than that. It can become an invitation to touch someone else in a way that you are uniquely qualified to do, and provide that glimmer of light.
I worship a God who is big enough to be able to put someone who is in need of prayer and hope in the same sanctuary as someone who has walked through that same dark tunnel and emerged triumphantly on the other side. What is required then is for the person who knows both the darkness and the light to lift up praise to God for others to hear. Even if someone facing that darkness doesn’t then lift up a prayer request or try to connect with the one offering praise afterwards, they will know what God has done for someone who they have seen and heard. For that person in darkness, they will have reason to hope.
Somebody needs to hear what God has brought you through, so don’t hold back on praising God. Your victories can give strength to others, which may be the precise reason why you were given that victory yourself.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron