I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are discouraged take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:1-4

When my autistic daughter was facing a very serious major surgery on her middle ear to remove a Cholesteatoma. (non-cancerous tumor) I was so overcome by fear I couldn't concentrate on Bible reading and prayer. I had been reading the Bible and praying and kept a journal up to that time. However, what I found that helped me more than anything was Praise Music. I had it playing a lot. When I couldn't pray, God would speak to me and it was as if he wrapped me in a blanket of love as I recalled the words to the praise songs or just listened to them.

There had been so much prayer for my daughter that I actually believed she was healed. When she went for her pre-surgical visit to the doctor I asked the doctor to look at her ear again with the microscoptic otoscope in which he had discovered the problem in the first place. He refused. He said the cat-scan didn't lie. He was suggesting a very aggresive 5 hour surgery. I got a second opinion. The doctor we went to finally looked at the ct scan and proposed a less aggressive surgery, but saying that if the cholesteatoma were there, he would remove it. It was there. It was intertwined around the tiny bones in her ears. He operated, the surgery took 3 hours and not 5, and she had absolutely no complications. Ironically, she is now seeing the first doctor for followup every three months and the growth has never returned.

The day of the surgery, I took a walkman with me with praise music cassettes and went out in a garden area of the hospital and sat on a bench and listened to the music.

What about depression? One of the causes of depression is hopelessness. If we think our battle will soon be over or the dental procedure has an end we can endure it. However, if there seems to be no end and no promise of an end most of us tend to get depressed. Another problem is helplessness. We may feel we have no power to change anything. That is how I get sometimes. The fact that we know who we are in Christ is important as we can learn to abide in Him. However, many times we are still stuck! What is the answer? PRAISE!!! Does God need our praise? No. Is he worthy of praise? Absolutely. However, there is something about Praising God that gets us out of ourselves and even out of our prison of time as we allow the Holy Spirit to take us into His realm. Here is an old song that I think might help. Feeling sorry for yourself? I was the last couple of days. Overcome with fear? Try praising God!!!

Judy

Praise The Lord

When you're up against a struggle
That shatters all your dreams
And your hope has been cruelly crushed
By Satan's manifesting scheme
And you feel the urge within you
To submit to earthly fears
Don't let the faith you're standing in, seem to disappear

(Chorus)

Praise the Lord
He can work with those who praise Him ,
Praise the Lord
For our God inhabits praise,
Praise the Lord
For the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise him

Now satan is a liar
And he wants to make us think
That we are paupers
When he knows himself
We're children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith
For the battle has been won
We know that Jesus Christ has risen
So the work's already done

(Repeat Chorus)

©Imperials' album HEED THE CALL released on Dayspring (Word) 1979
Words and Music by Brown Bannister and Mike Hudson

Judy

I'm so glad to hear she had no complications from the surgery.

I see that you and I use music in the same manner. It's very helpful during times when I'm overwhelmed with strong emotions and feel a need to pray or connect with God.

I may not listen to gospel music, but I spent my formative years praying while listening to popular music on the radio. Like you, I allowed my heart to speak my emotions to God, not my words. Sometimes the lyrics calmed my fears in return or helped place me in the right direction.

I've also found that love songs - any love song - can be a good praise song. "Here and Now" by Luther VanDross is an excellent one.

Yes, I KNOW the radio doesn't speak to me. It's just that sometimes a song will come on that will remind me of God's presence - almost as if he's talking with me. Here's an example of one that came on one time when I was feeling depressed and in pain:

"Everybody Hurts" - R.E.M.

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on

I love praise songs! I think my favorite right now is "Sanctuary".

Kathy, I think "Everybody Hurts" is one of the most powerful songs. The video is so moving too. I love when I'm in the car and it comes on the radio. I turn it up and belt it out...much to the chagrin of my children.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt of life, no fear of death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Newsboys

Hey Judy

Got another one for you - just heard it on the radio. I was a young teenager when this song came out, and often found myself all alone and in need. Whenever this song came on, it helped me pour my heart out in prayer because I'd listen as if it were God serenading me as I prayed. I hope you don't mind my adding a non-gospel song to your thread. It was very gospel-sounding to me at the time.

"Run to Me" - Bee Gees

If ever you got rain in your heart,
Someone has hurt you, and torn you apart,
Am I unwise to open up your eyes to love me?

And let it be like they said it would be -
Me loving you girl, and you loving me.
Am I unwise to open up your eyes to love me?

Run to me whenever you’re lonely (to love me)
Run to me if you need a shoulder
Now and then, you need someone older,
So darling, you run to me.

And when you’re out in the cold,
No one beside you, and no one to hold,
Am I unwise to open up your eyes to love me?

And when you’ve got nothing to lose,
Nothing to pay for, nothing to choose,
Am I unwise to open up your eyes to love me

Run to me whenever you’re lonely. (to love me)
Run to me if you need a shoulder
Now and then you need someone older,
So darling, you run to me.