Understanding My Praise Series
Hallel Edition: Part 2
The Power of Praising Before the Promise
Key Scriptures
Psalm 150:6 (NKJV)
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Praise Definition
Praise is my outward expression of my inward recognition of who God is and what the Lord has done.
Hallel Definition
Hallel is celebrating God out loud because He’s been too good to stay silent.
Introduction
Over the past two weeks, we’ve been learning that praise is much more than singing songs before the sermon or clapping our hands because everyone else is doing it. Praise has a language. Throughout Scripture, God gives us different Hebrew words that teach us different expressions of worship.
We’ve also discovered that praise is my outward expression of my inward recognition of who God is and what the Lord has done.
That means praise always begins on the inside before it’s ever seen on the outside. Before my hands go up, my heart has already recognized His goodness. Before I shout, my soul has already remembered His faithfulness. Before I worship with my mouth, my spirit has already reflected on His mercy.
Last week, we learned about Hallel.
We discovered that Hallel is where we get the word Hallelujah, which simply means, “Praise the Lord.”
We learned that Hallel is celebrating God out loud because He’s been too good to stay silent.
We also learned that God has already given every one of us enough reasons to praise Him.
If you’ve got breath, you’ve got a reason.
If God woke you up today, you’ve got a reason.
But tonight, I want to take us one step further—because Hallel isn’t only about why we praise. It’s also about what happens when we do.
Too many believers think praise is simply something we do during worship service before the preaching begins. But praise doesn’t just change the atmosphere around us. Praise changes the believer who offers it.
The same breath God placed in your lungs and the same day He woke you up to experience are both opportunities to give Him praise.
Tonight, I want to show you three things Hallel begins to produce in the life of every believer.
Point One: Hallel Changes Your Perspective
Psalm 118:24 declares:
“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Notice what the psalmist does not say.
He doesn’t say this is the perfect day.
He doesn’t say this is the easiest day.
He doesn’t even say this is the happiest day.
He simply says:
“This is the day the Lord has made.”
In other words, before this day belonged to your problems, it belonged to God.
Before your disappointment showed up, God was already here. Before your anxiety arrived, God had already claimed this day as His own.
Life has a way of training us to focus on everything that’s wrong:
- We notice the bad grade before the blessing.
- The rejection before the opportunity.
- The criticism before the compliment.
- The disappointment before God’s provision.
But Hallel has a way of changing what you’re looking at.
Praise doesn’t always change your situation immediately. Sometimes, praise changes the way you see your situation.
Instead of looking at the size of your problem, you begin looking at the greatness of your God.
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” you begin asking, “Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
Praise reminds us that our circumstances may change every day, but God never changes.
Hallel changes your perspective.
There is something powerful that happens when your perspective changes. Once you stop focusing on your problems, you begin trusting the God who is bigger than your problems.
That leads us to our second truth.
Point Two: Hallel Builds Your Confidence
Psalm 150:6 declares:
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
Every breath you take is a reminder that God is still sustaining you.
You didn’t wake yourself up this morning.
You didn’t tell your heart to beat.
You didn’t command your lungs to breathe.
God did.
Every breath is evidence that His grace is still at work in your life.
Every inhale reminds you that God is preserving you. Every exhale reminds you that God has not abandoned you.
If God has faithfully carried you this far, why would He stop now?
Sometimes, we lose confidence because we spend more time listening to our fears than remembering God’s faithfulness.
But every time you offer Hallel, you remind yourself of what God has already done. You’re declaring:
“If He kept me yesterday, He’ll keep me today. If He sustained me before, He’ll sustain me again.”
Your confidence is not built on your ability. It is built on God’s faithfulness.
That’s why we praise—not because life is always easy, but because God is always faithful.
Hallel builds your confidence.
When your confidence begins to grow, something else begins to happen: your praise starts reaching the people around you.
Point Three: Hallel Inspires Others
Psalm 150:6 doesn’t say, “Think about praising.”
It says:
“Praise the Lord!”
Praise has always been public. When God has been good to you, people ought to know it.
Think about it:
- When your favorite team wins, everybody knows.
- When you make the team, everybody knows.
- When you get accepted into the college you wanted, everybody knows.
- When something exciting happens in your life, you don’t hide it—you celebrate it.
So why should we celebrate everything except the One who gave us life?
Your praise may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.
Someone sitting beside you may be wondering if God is still faithful. Someone behind you may be questioning whether God still answers prayer. Someone across the room may be carrying burdens nobody else knows about.
Then they hear your Hallelujah.
They see your joy.
They witness your faith.
Suddenly, hope begins to rise within them.
Your praise becomes evidence that God is still working.
Never underestimate the power of your praise.
Sometimes, your Hallel becomes someone else’s encouragement. Sometimes, your Hallel becomes someone else’s testimony before they ever receive their own.
Hallel inspires others.
Conclusion and Demonstration
Imagine walking into a room that is completely dark.
No lights.
No windows.
Nothing but darkness.
Now, imagine someone turns on one flashlight.
The darkness doesn’t argue with the light. The darkness doesn’t overpower the light. The darkness simply gives way wherever the light shines.
Church, praise works the very same way.
Hallel doesn’t pretend that darkness isn’t real. Hallel simply refuses to let darkness have the final word.
The psalmist declares:
“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Then he reminds us:
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
Outbreak, as long as you’ve got breath, you’ve got light.
As long as God has given you today, you’ve got a reason to praise.
Don’t wait until the prayer is answered.
Don’t wait until the breakthrough arrives.
Don’t wait until every problem disappears.
Praise Him now.
Hallel isn’t only praise after the victory. Sometimes, Hallel is the praise that carries you into the victory.
Let your outward expression match your inward recognition of who God is and what He has done.
If God has been too good for you to stay silent—
If He’s carried you through things nobody else even knows about—
If He’s kept breathing life into your body—
If He’s given you another day—
Then don’t let a rock take your place.
On the count of three, I want every person with breath to give God the loudest Hallel you have.
One…
Two…
Three…
