Choosing Praise When Life Feels Heavy

Pressure doesn’t get the final word—praise does. Anchored in Psalm 34:1, we walk through a morning of prayer and teaching that reframes worship as a covenant choice, not an emotional reaction. David’s declaration, forged in fear and survival, becomes our pattern: bless God first, even when the storm hasn’t moved. From there, we examine how the tongue can either drain courage or build it, why life-giving confessions are not denial, and how steady praise stabilizes the soul when circumstances refuse to cooperate.

We get practical about renewing the mind with scripture, casting down the imaginations that predict failure, and replacing frustrated speech with faith-rooted truth. You’ll hear strong declarations over health, provision, and peace, grounded in passages like Isaiah 53, Psalm 23, Romans 12, and 2 Corinthians 10. Together we speak to dry places, call dormant gifts to rise, and learn to see through God’s eyes rather than our fears. This is where praise becomes a shifter—moving our perspective, opening room for solutions, and training our hearts to trust.

We also cover our homes and children with specific prayer, contending for protection, mental health, and identity. We confront lack with the Lord’s shepherding care and welcome a new day as an acceptable time for turnaround. If you’ve been waiting for things to improve before you worship, this conversation flips the script: choose praise now, shape your language with the Word, and watch resilience grow while God works.

If this encouraged you, subscribe and share it with a friend who needs strength today. Leave a review with one line you’re declaring this week—we’d love to read it on a future episode.

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Transcript

Welcome And Scripture Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:31

God bless you and welcome to morning prayer. Thanking the Lord for this holiday season and how God has kept us even as we took a break for the holiday. Thanking God for each of you that are on the line this morning. And we're here this morning to come before the Lord in prayer. Amen. And so we're going to uh prepare our hearts and our minds now. I'm going to go into our scripture reading for today. Our scripture reading for today is Psalm 31 and 4. Psalm 31 and 4 says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Amen. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Amen. And we're praying this morning. We're praying for the confession of our mouth. We're praying that God will help us, hallelujah, to bless him in our words and our deeds. Praise is a choice. Hallelujah. And we're going to go before the Lord this morning. Hallelujah. Father, your name is exalted. Hallelujah. Your name is lifted high. Hallelujah. There's none like you know, none other in all of the earth. Hallelujah. None like you, God, in all of the heavens, God. Lord, we give you honor and glory. We praise your name, Lord. Hallelujah. Oh God, you've come to be a hiding place. Lord, you've come to be a solid foundation. Oh God, you've come to be a healer and a deliverer. Oh God, we thank you, Lord, for every facet that we know you in. Oh God, to some you're a Father. Oh God, to some, Lord, hallelujah. You're a friend. Hallelujah. But in all things, oh God, you are God. You are Lord of all. Hallelujah. And we bless your name. Hallelujah. And we honor your presence this morning. We honor your presence this morning. We honor your presence. Hallelujah. We honor your presence this morning. Hallelujah. And we thank you, oh God. We thank you, God. Hallelujah. For even being able to feel your presence, oh God, to feel your spirit this morning. Oh God, we thank you. Oh God, as we draw every breath, God, we thank you for the breath in our bodies. Oh God, as we sit here, we thank you for the blood running warm in our veins. Oh God, as we sit here, we thank you, Lord, for hallelujah, being in our right mind and having a mind of prayer this morning. Oh God, we thank you. Hallelujah. And we bless and honor your name. Oh God, even as we push into your presence, even as we push into prayer. Oh God, I'm asking, Lord, that you'll search our hearts, God. Oh God, search our minds, God, search our ways, Lord. If anything that we have done is unpleasing, if anything that we have thought is unpleasing, God, we're asking even now, Lord, that you'll forgive us of our sins and our iniquities, oh God. Oh Lord, wash us in the blood of Jesus. Oh God, purge us from all unrighteousness in the name of Jesus. Oh God, we ask, Lord, that every chain of sin, every yoke of oppression be broken right now in the name of Jesus. The blood of Jesus prevail over our old self, over our sinful self, over our flesh self, God. Oh God, and we come forth, oh God, in the name of Jesus as sons and daughters. We come forth, oh God, hallelujah, as the redeemed this morning. Oh God, we thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. We thank you, God, for the redemption of our souls, oh God. Oh God, it's all because of you, not of any good that we have done. Oh God, but because of the blood of Jesus, because of the sacrifice of the cross. God, we thank you for victory over sin and sin today. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray, Lord, even now, God, that you'll help us, oh God, to bring our minds in, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray this morning that you'll help the mind, God. In the name of Jesus. I pray, God, that you'll help us, Lord, even with our tongues, God, and the things that we say, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, life and death. The power of life and death is in our tongue, God. Lord, I pray this morning that you'll help us, Lord. Oh God, to have a confession, a holy confession, a confession that is good in your sight, Lord. Oh God, I pray that you'll help us, Lord, to stop speaking negativity over our lives. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us, Lord, to stop speaking out of frustration. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, knowing that you have made us the prophet over our own lives, we shall have what we say we shall have. Oh God, and we won't have what we say we won't have. Oh God, help us, Lord, to begin to speak life, oh God, in the name of Jesus. Help us to speak life in the driest areas of our life. Help us to speak life over the dead things in our lives. Help us to speak life, God, over aches and pains, oh God, in our bodies. Help us to speak life, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us to speak faith, oh God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us to speak, I am well. Hallelujah. I am well in the name of Jesus. Help us to speak it is well. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us to begin, Lord. Hallelujah. To look at things through your eyes, oh God, and through your word, Lord. Oh God, and through your eyes, it's under control. Oh God, and in your word, it's under control. Oh God, I pray, Lord, that you help us to not just be in denial, God, but Lord, help us, Lord, to be faith talkers. Oh God, help us to be those that will say what the word of God says over a situation. Oh God, help us to praise you, God, even in the midnight of our lives. Help us to praise you, God, even when things seem to be dry, even when things seem to be spinning out of control. Help us to praise you, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God. Oh Lord, when David wrote Psalm 31, Lord, oh God, he wasn't in a comfortable place, Lord. Oh God, but he was in a place, oh God, of survival, God. Oh God, he was in a place, God, that was barren for him. Oh God, he was in a dark place when he wrote Psalm 34, but he chose to say, I will bless the Lord at all times. Oh God, give us that confession, Lord. Oh God, over every situation and over every matter that tries to weigh us down in the name of Jesus. Oh God, our enemy desires our praise. Our enemy desires our confession. Oh God, the enemy desires to have us in a place. Oh God, where we're sapped of our strength, God. Oh God, but the word of God declares that the joy of the Lord is our strength. As we praise you, God, you send strength, God. As we praise you, God, you send help, God. As we praise you, God, oh Lord, we begin to see how you're making a way out of nowhere. I will bless the Lord at all times. Oh God, help us today to bless you in the midst of our bills. Oh God, to bless you, God, in the midst of going to work. Oh God, to bless you, Lord, in the midst of sickness. Help us to bless you, Lord, in the midst of marital issues. Oh God, help us to bless you, God, in the midst of parenting issues. Oh God, whatever we are confronted with, whatever is going on in our lives, I pray that you'll give us, Lord, to begin to bless you in the midst of the situation. Oh God, even in times of loss. Oh God, put a praise on our tongue. Oh God, even in times of bereavement. Oh God, put a praise on our tongue. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, you're worthy of the praise at all times. You're worthy of the glory at all times. Oh God, regardless of where we are in our lives. Oh God, the good day, the bad day, the worst day. Oh God, you are still, Lord, deserving of our praise. Help us, God, to praise you in those tough moments. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, you're not out, Lord, to destroy us, but you're out to build us. Oh God, you're not out to destroy us, oh God, but you're out to mold us. Oh God, you're out to make us. Oh God, you're out, Lord, hallelujah, to develop character in us. Oh God, I thank you. I thank you for these that are on the line. Some have been suffering for a long time. Oh God, I pray that the word hit their life today. In the name of Jesus. I pray, God, that you'll give them the strength, Lord, to bless you. I pray, Lord, that you'll give them to see the areas, oh God, where they've been thinking and speaking negatively, God, and to begin to praise you in those areas. And to begin to thank you in those areas. Oh God, your word says in all things to give thanks. For this is the will of God concerning you. Oh God, I pray, Lord, I Yah Messiah. I pray, God, that you'll give these strength, oh God. Lord, to bless you in those hard places, those heavy places. Oh God, those heavy conditions, God. Oh God, I pray, oh God, that they'll bless you and they'll begin to see the situation become lighter. Oh God, they'll begin to see solutions to problems. Oh God, they'll begin to see, oh God, the way that you see the situation. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us to choose praise when our feelings want to resist it. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, teach us to bless you in every season of life. Oh God, teach us to bless you in everything that we go through. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, help us to be those that you can count on to praise you. Oh God, you can count on us, Lord, to give you thanks. You can count on us to give you glory. You can count on us to remember you. You can count on us, oh God. Oh God, you can count on us, Lord. Oh God, to be there. Oh God, and to do what you say do in the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, I pray for these households on the line in the name of Jesus. And we speak over the households. We come against lack. In the name of Jesus. The Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want. We come against it in the name of Jesus. Oh God, have your way, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you'll send your restoration to your people in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray. I pray where they've been frustrated. Oh God, that shall come in, Lord, and that shall help them, Lord, to see things through your eyes, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray, Lord, that shall help us, Lord, to say things such as, and my God shall supply all of my need according to his riches and glory. Help us, God, to speak the confession. Oh God, to speak the confession of the word of God over our lives in the name of Jesus. God, we praise you and we give you glory. Oh God, help us to speak over sickness. Oh God, help us to speak. Oh God, that he was wounded from my transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed, according to Isaiah 53 and 5. Oh God, I pray, Lord. Oh God, for us to speak Psalm 23 and 3, God. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray for a mind renewal today. Oh God, we declare Romans 12 and 2. We will not be conformed to this world, but we will be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We come against stress this morning with 2 Corinthians 10 and 5. We cast down all imaginations, all imaginations of failure, all imaginations of lack, all imaginations of the worst, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. And we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, to the obedience of the cross, to the obedience of the blood. We take control of our minds and we cast down imaginations, we cast down fear. In the name of Jesus, we cast that high thing down. Oh, in the name of Jesus, we bring it into the captivity of the cross. In the name of Jesus. Oh yes, God, renew the mind today, in the name of Jesus, that we may speak, oh God, that we may speak good, that we may speak those things, oh God, that be not as though they are. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we bless your name and we give you honor and your glory. We give you glory and we give you praise. Oh God, we thank you. We thank you that according to 2 Corinthians 5 and 17, God, that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature and that old things are passed away. And behold, all things are become new. We thank you, God, that we are not who we used to be. We're not even who we were yesterday. Oh God, but we're a new creation, God. Even by your great mercies that you speak of in lamentation, God, where we say, Oh God, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. His compassion fails not, but they are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness towards us. We thank you for a new day, God, for a new mind, God. We thank you that we're a new creature in you, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I thank you. I thank you, Lord, for giving your people peace. I thank you for giving your people to walk in joy and wholeness. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you, Lord. Hallelujah, that you have chosen us before the foundation of the world. Hallelujah, to be holy and without blame before you. Oh God, we thank you, Lord, that you've adopted us as your children, God. We thank you, Lord, that we are not rejected by you, but accepted and loved by you. And you will care for us all through the day. You will care for us all through the night, God. You will care for us as a good father. Oh God, I pray in the name of Jesus. Oh God, that you'll move on every home and grant it peace. In the name of Jesus, we drive the devil out by the blood of Jesus and by the word of Christ. In the name of Jesus, we drive him out. Hallelujah. Even with our children, even now we cover them under the blood of Jesus. We cover them even now. In the name of Jesus. We pray the prayer of faith over our children. Oh God, that so save them, oh God. In the name of Jesus, we thank you that this prayer of faith, oh God, save them, oh God, that they shall be saved. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I'm asking this morning, Lord, that we even begin to see a difference in our children. Oh God, give us to see where you're working on them. Give us to see, oh God, where you're having your way in their lives. In the name of Jesus. May every dormant gift in our children come up that it may be cultivated in the name of Jesus. Oh, may the enemy be scattered in their lives. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we bind suicide in the name of Jesus. We bind depression in our young people. In the name of Jesus. We bind it in the name of Jesus. We declare the word of God over our children that they shall live and not die. And declare the works of the Lord. We declare the word of God over our children. Strain up a child in the way that they should go. And when they are old, they will not depart from it. Oh God, I thank you, Lord, that we shall reap what the Word of God says. We shall reap salvation for our children in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray that you'll heal every broken place. According to Psalm 147 and 3, He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds. In the name of Jesus, heal the broken heart, God. Bind up every wound, God. In the name of Jesus. Make our children to be whole, God. Oh God, even where we fall short. Oh God, you come in the more. Oh God, even where we fall short, God, you come in the more, God. Oh God, you alone search the heart. And there is no perfect parent. So, God, even where we fall short, oh God, we invite you to come in, oh God, and to meet our children at the point of their need in the name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you. We thank you, God, for this Monday. For this is the day that the Lord hath made. We shall rejoice and be glad in it. We shall rejoice and see the potential in it. We shall rejoice and see the new day that you have given to us, God. We shall rejoice and see the gift of time that you've given us today. We thank you, God, for January 5th. Oh, God, and it's an acceptable day. It's an acceptable day for you to bless us. It's an acceptable day for life to change. It's an acceptable day to receive good news. It's an acceptable day, oh God, for turnaround. We thank you for it, God. We thank you for the day. Hallelujah. I amando kusha tamandia. God, we thank you. We thank you, God, for this day that you have made. Oh, God, I'm praying this morning for your people. I pray their strength. I pray their peace. I pray their joy. I pray their prospering. I pray that they prosper and that they be in good health, even as their souls shall prosper in the mighty name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you for today. And as we go forward, oh God, I pray that you'll bless us in your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Thank God and amen. Thank God and amen. I thank God for prayer. I thank God for the promise in the word of God. The promises of God are yes and amen. The promises of God are sure. The promises of God shall come to pass. And we thank God for each and every one of his promises. Psalm 34 and 1. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Hallelujah. Praise is a choice. Hallelujah. This is an excerpt from the message that was preached on yesterday. Hallelujah. Pastor Mark Bayman Jr. was our speaker, and he did an awesome job with Psalm 34. David did not write Psalm 34 from a place of comfort. He wrote it after fear, flight, and survival. Yet his declaration is intentional. I will bless the Lord. Praise here is not emotional overflow, it is covenant resolve. David teaches us that worship is not a reaction to relief, but a decision made in pressure. When circumstances fluctuate, praise stabilizes the soul. Blessing the Lord at all times confronts conditional faith. It pushes us beyond worship that waits for things to improve. Praise becomes an anchor when the storm has not passed by yet. Amen. Praise is an anchor. Praise is a stabilizer. Praise is a shifter. Praise has done so much for me. Had it not been for the power and praise, not sure if I'd be in my right mind. But praise is definitely a weapon against our enemy. Hallelujah. And we are pushing past conditional praise. Conditional praise is when we praise God when things look good. When we praise God because everything is all set and everything is settled. We're pushing past conditional praise and learning to praise God when the storm has not passed yet. Learning to praise God when things look bad and when there's pressure. We're learning to praise God regardless of what the situation looks like because God is still God and He still deserves the praise. And He's still going to be mighty in the situation. Amen. I thank God that our outcome is that we win and that we have victory in spite of what it looks like. Amen. You have victory in spite of what it looks like. So we thank the Lord for our devotional time this morning, thanking God for this word, Psalm 34 and 1. It's such a great passage of scripture. Feel free to go to our Facebook and Instagram page if you want to look at the devotional again, get it in more detail, use it for other things. It's there. Thanking the Lord for uh Elder JC Suttles on the line, thanking God for Dr. Suttles on the Line. Thanking God for them and their consistency and their push to be on in the mornings. I thank you both for being here. Thanking God for Pastor Mark Bayman Jr. Thank God for him for allowing us to do this. Thanking God for the healing word family. And I thank God for every listener, everyone that tunes in, even when they come back for the replay on the podcast. We pray that this morning that the prayer blessed you and that the devotional blessed you. Amen. We thank the Lord, and on tomorrow we will be back if the Lord is willing at 6 a.m. for prayer. God bless you and have a wonderful day.