The Power of Praise (or What to Do When You Can't Sleep...)

Insomnia is not a typical struggle for me.  But every now and then a sleepless night comes calling.  You know those nights...

-- when the brain just won't "shut off." 

-- When life's fears and anxieties overcome the the pull of sleep. 

-- When prayer cycles into worry, then back to prayer, then to worry -- until you're exhausted (but still not sleeping) from the struggle.

As a teenager, I read somewhere this tip:  "Instead of counting sheep when you can't sleep, make a list of God's attributes, beginning with 'A'." Today this tip was brought to memory as I read through Psalm 145 and was reminded that this Psalm is an acrostic based on the Hebrew alphabet.  The closing assignment in the study I am using was to make my own alphabetical list of God's attributes.

And like a flood, the power of praise washes over me.  The uncanny ability that God's Word has to restore the soul amazes me once again.

~~ Doesn't Psalm 22:3 say that God inhabits the the praise of His people? 

~~ Didn't Paul and Silas feel the prison walls tremble and their chains break off after an impromptu time of praise and worship? 

~~ Don't we feel the drizzle of depression and doldrums begin to dissipate as we drench our minds and hearts in God, in praising Him?  

So, do it!  Praise Him! List His attributes back to Him as an act of worship. Then watch Him turn your sacrifices of praise into temples of worship!