Devo: "Raise a Hallelujah!"

“Raise a Hallelujah!”

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;” (Ephesians 5:18–20)

     Music is a very powerful vehicle for imparting information and establishing atmospheres. All of us know what it is like to watch a movie and the music establishes the mood of the movie. How successful would movies like, “Rocky”, “Chariots of Fire”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Top Gun” or any suspense movie be without music to impart information and establish a mood. What would a horror movie be like, if the evil person was about to hurt someone and the theme from “Rocky” was the background music. Many times, I have been in a commercial establishment and I have heard a particular song that was being broadcast over its speaker system. Once I left the establishment, I could not get the song out of my head. I believe that phenomena is evidence that God created music to be a vehicle to impart information and establish atmospheres. The Book of Psalms confirms that conviction.

     When we are attempting to establish a spiritual atmosphere within our hearts and minds, praise, worship and thanksgiving are very powerful vehicles to use. That is why David used praise, worship and thanksgiving to encourage himself when he was in a wilderness because King Saul was trying to kill him (Psalm 63). The Apostle Paul and Silas used praise and worship to put on the mindset of the Spirit, in order to overcome the discouragement and effects of being imprisoned (Acts 16:23-26). When we praise, worship or give thanks to God, we are establishing a spiritual atmosphere within our hearts and minds, that empowers us to be led of the Holy Spirit in order to overcome the adversities of the world.

     One time, I was riding in a small propeller driven commercial plane in the midst of bad weather. As the plane was bouncing around you could feel and hear the tension rising in the hearts and minds of the passengers on the plane. I could feel myself getting stressed. All of sudden a praise song popped in my head and I started giving expression to the song. As I sang the song, I could feel my heart taking on the strength of the Holy Spirit. As the plane was experiencing turbulence while making it’s landing approach, I was able to enjoy looking out the window identifying sites we were flying over.

      I love the praise song, “Raise a Hallelujah” by Jonathan and Melissa Helser. The title of the song says it all, when we are wanting to establish a spiritual atmosphere. When we enter into praise, worship and thanksgiving to our God, we are literally being filled with the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is establishing a spiritual atmosphere of victory, encouragement and hope within us.

     Let’s choose to raise a hallelujah to our God and King, in order to establish a spiritual atmosphere in us and around us. Do not wait until you come to church to enter into praise, worship and thanksgiving. Train yourself to get out of bed in the morning with praise, worship and thanksgiving being on our hearts. In doing so, you are establishing a spiritual atmosphere that will enable you to filled with the Holy Spirit