NEW WAYS TO PRAISE! Maria #336 DO 3055 3/96
--Mama's Intro to the Praise Kisses and Praise Prophecies GNs!
My dear Family,
1. I love you, and I have something new and exciting to tell you about! Remember when we first got the "Loving Jesus" revelation, how that came about as a result of my feeling so frustrated in my attempts to express to Jesus my love for Him? That is when we decided to ask Him what we could do to be closer to Him, and He started us on this wonderful and exciting journey of learning to love Him more deeply! And that's when He told us what we could say to Him that would make Him happy and bring us closer to Him.
2. And what a big change that has made in our lives, to realize how Jesus was there all the time, waiting for the moment when we would want Him so desperately and He could show us how very, very much He cares about us and wants to be near us, and show us that He is our Husband--not only symbolically, but in every way!--That He is always there, always ready, a personal, doting Husband Who knows each thought at every moment, each need, and is constantly looking for ways to make us happy.--A Husband Who is so in love with each of us that He loves us passionately, fully, completely, as though there were no one else. He wanted us to know that He loves us not only as our Husband, but as the great King of the Universe that He is, wanting only the best and the most of everything for us, His Bride, whom He looks upon with such eyes of love that He sees no fault, and for whom He has only unconditional acceptance and admiration.
3. Did you know He even makes excuses for us? He does that for me all the time, and I can hardly believe it! I say to Him, "But Jesus, You're letting me off the hook too easily! You really are making excuses for me. I know I should be doing better, but You tell me not to worry about it, and to just forget it, and that I'm doing just great! I'm so bad, but You always give me the benefit of the doubt, and always immerse me and envelop me in such warm feelings of security and comfort!
4. "For example, I recently did something that I was very ashamed of. I acted very selfish, proud and unyielded. I quickly repented and asked You to forgive me for getting out of line, and You just told me it was an unguarded moment and not to worry about it. You told me not to be condemned, and that You know I feel bad about it, and You understand. Yet I know I was bad and I didn't yield when You asked me to. I could have made the time to do it, but I was just too selfish. But You told me that I was doing the most important thing and I was getting out Your Words, so You overlooked it. It's as though You didn't even see how unyielded and selfish I was.
5. "You don't only treat me this way, You show the same kind of love for all of us! Look how You told all of us mated couples in 'Go for the Gold' that if we would share with others outside our marriage union, we didn't even have to fuck them if we didn't want to, for whatever reason, even if out of selfishness or jealousy or not wanting to have a baby or what have you! You didn't hold against us what could look like unwillingness or lack of faith. Any reservations or hesitancy we feel is canceled out by the love we're willing to show in sharing with others. You made excuses for us, and commended us with the highest commendation by saying, 'Gold medals in My Kingdom are not won through perfection but through love. For love is the key in My Kingdom. Love is the gold that Heaven is made of.' (For more on this, see ML #2961:429-437.)
6. "Lord, You are so wonderful and so precious to always be looking at us with such eyes of love that You don't see any of our blemishes or our failings. It's like You really don't see them! You know they're there, but You just don't look at them. You choose not to see them. That was the way Dad was with me. Whenever I'd be discouraged and be talking about how bad I was, he'd always shush me up and say, 'Honey, I don't want to hear about it. You're wonderful! You're marvelous! And I love you so much!' He was such a sample of Your Love, Jesus. I didn't realize then how much, but now I see it so much more! I know that he knew my weaknesses and all my NWOs. In fact, he had to suffer from some of them. But it was like he just didn't see them, because in his eyes, my love for Jesus and desire to please and obey Him outweighed my faults and weaknesses. He only saw the good qualities that I had right then, and the potential that I had of becoming the leader that he and You wanted me to be."
7. Well, dear Family, I just can't tell you how loving Jesus is, but I guess you're finding it out for yourself, because He loves you that way too! After I had dictated the above comments, I had someone in my Home pray and ask the Lord for a confirmation of this point about Him making excuses for us, as I felt that might sound pretty radical to some of you. I wanted to be sure I was on the right track. As usual, the Lord answered beautifully, giving us wonderful Words of explanation:
8. ({\ul \i Prophecy, Jesus speaking:)} Ah, My precious, faithful queen, how I love and adore you. It is true, I do make excuses for you because I know your weaknesses. I know that you are but dust. I know that you are a frail human being and you cannot be perfect. But I also know that your heart is right with Me and your desire is to please Me. Your desire is to do My will and to yield, or at least be willing to be made willing.
9. I know that the desire of your heart is to please Me. I know that you recognize your own weaknesses and frailties, the times when you are selfish or proud, and I know that you do not want to be that way. You want to be yielded and humble and fully, completely submitted to My will.
10. For this reason I do make excuses for you, because I know that even as yielded and willing as you are, there will always be some mistakes, some shortcomings, some NWOs, no matter how hard you try, because you are not perfect. But I do not look for perfection; I look for the desire, the yieldedness, the willingness. And when I see this, then yes, I make excuses for you. I turn a blind eye to your weaknesses, for I am as a blind lover who loves you in spite of your weaknesses.
11. But this is a difficult principle to explain to our children, for there are many who have not yet learned to rightly and wisely divide the Word of Truth. There are many who do not know how to apply the Word of Truth, and so to some it becomes a stumbling block. For those who are looking for "excuses" for their overall, ongoing disobedience or lack of yieldedness, this Word could be misapplied or misunderstood, or taken as an occasion to the flesh. For this that you are presenting is a deep truth from the deep wells of My Spirit. You are explaining My very nature. (End of prophecy.)
12. ({\ul \i Mama:) }So you see, if you're doing the best you can and generally trying to obey, but you slip or make a mistake or you're not yielded in some way, then the Lord will make excuses for you too, because He says He's not looking for perfection. He's looking for willingness, or even a willingness to be made willing.
13. However, the Lord also included a caution to not be stumbled or take this as an occasion to the flesh. This does not give you license to now let your guard down or conclude that you don't need to try to make progress in overcoming long-term problems. If you have an ongoing serious problem, then the Lord may not be so quick to make excuses for you in that area. In such a case, He may have to work differently in your life. "Whom the Father loveth, He chasteneth" (Heb.12:6). So please don't misunderstand what I said and think that you can now get away with serious infractions of the Charter or the Lord's commandments because He will just "excuse" you. That is not the case.
14. But if you're doing your best and your heart is right with the Lord, yet you feel discouraged with yourself or your mistakes or the fact that you don't always do as well as you feel you should, don't worry. He'll excuse all that. He won't even see it, because He's as a blind lover who loves you in spite of your weaknesses.
15. I got way off the track of what I was going to tell you, but I just couldn't help talking about how wonderful our dearest Darling, our precious Heavenly Husband is! But I guess this really does all tie in with what I want to tell you about!
16. After Jesus showed us the words we could say to Him and how we could talk to Him just like we would talk to our earthly loves, that was wonderful and it gave us such wonderful opportunities for intimate communication with Him. But because I loved Him so much, as time went on I wanted to say more to Him to try to express how very, very thankful I was for this precious relationship that He had given us.
17. Of course, we have the beautiful Psalms in the Bible, and many other praise verses, and while these are wonderful and we love to pray these to the Lord, I still felt the need for something that would be more the way we would say things in today's language. We already had the praises in the Praise Time songbook, and we were working on "Praise Time" volumes 2, 3 and 4, and these are beautiful--especially after those who were compiling them went back through and revamped some of them and made them sound nicer to say to Him. But still these weren't quite as intimate as the things I wanted to tell Him. Besides, they too are not always the way we would express things, and while very beautiful, and while I love to use them and say them to Him, I also wanted something more current, more up to date!
18. I had this on my heart for quite a while, and finally I told Peter that of all the things that we needed to pray for, I would choose this one as the most important! I told him, "I really want to get something from Jesus where He will give us the words to love Him with, a further extension of what He's already told us, a prayer of praise that we can pray to Him that will express in words the love in our hearts for Him. I'm not eloquent enough to word such things myself, and I need Him to do it for us, to give us the words that we can say back to Him, to praise Him for His precious, overwhelming, boundless, immeasurable, unending love for us!"
19. God bless dear Peter! It was a new thing for him, but he's always been so yielded. He's such a good faucet, such a wonderful love gift from Jesus!--Such a precious part of my heart and my life. So you can see why he's so humble! It's because he's had to live and work with me for so long! But he will be the first to admit that it does have its privileges. We get to hear so beautifully from our wonderful Jesus every day, and Peter was willing, and even eager, to see what would come!
20. And what came was just what I wanted, just what I needed, just what I was looking for! I was so excited that while Peter was getting the prophecy I was telling the Lord, "Oh, please don't stop, Jesus! Please don't stop! Please keep giving it to us!" But realistically, I knew that Peter was never going to be able to give enough in these few short minutes that we had to prophesy to keep me happy, and I was going to want more and more and more! So instantly I realized that the Lord would not only speak through Peter with His praises, but He could use others as well, and we could have more and more! It would be wonderful!
21. I was so excited! I knew the Lord was giving just what I wanted, so I have to admit that my mind really wandered as Peter was giving that one! I knew I'd get a chance to listen to it as soon as it was done, and that it was wonderful, and I was so excited thinking about how much more we could get, that I just couldn't keep my mind on the one we were getting! Oh my! But I knew Jesus wouldn't mind this time, because He knew it wasn't out of disinterest that I was not listening! I'd heard enough to know that I loved it and that I wanted more! It was a beautiful prayer of praise to the Lord, and we already have it on tape and I listen to it when I feel the need to have a more structured way to praise Him, when I need a "script"! You know me and scripts--I love them! I need them!
22. So I started our dear folks here and at one of our WS units on getting more of these, and you can imagine how beautiful these prayers are! There's such variety! Some of them are more formal praises to Jesus, others are very informal; sometimes they're centered on a specific blessing, other times they are praise for many different blessings! Some are long and some are short. Sometimes they're even poems! One of our folks even got a song, complete with melody!
23. Everybody in our Home has done at least one--and most have done more--and they all agree that it's wonderful to be able to have these prayers of praise dictated by Jesus Himself, just what He wants to hear from us! We could hardly wait to get them into this first GN, and we hope we can have many more GNs of these praises to come! The Lord never runs out of ways for us to praise Him, or things for us to say to Him. We run out, but He doesn't! He keeps giving and giving and giving, and the variety is amazing!
24. Some of these prophecies may not even sound like prophecies; they may just sound like a very expressive prayer. Others may be more "majestic." Most were just everyday prayers that any of us would pray to Jesus if we were articulate enough--all the things that you would like to say, but usually you don't find the words for. They're the kind of prayers you hear and you say, "I sure wish I had prayed that!" It's not that they're all necessarily so eloquent; it's just that they're very clear and expressive!--The kind of thing that if, before knowing about this way to get these prayers in prophecy, we had sat down and prayed and asked the Lord to help us write a prayer and taken the time and effort to do it, He could have given it to us through our own thoughts. At least I think the Lord could have inspired me to write something like some of these prayers, but it sure would've taken me a lot longer to get a prayer that way than to get one in prophecy, and a lot more effort, too! Plus, I probably wouldn't have been able to eke out more than one of them.
25. But this way, we can be swimming in praises! We can be inundated by them! We can have so many that we'll never run out! There's a continual supply available and all we have to do is ask! It's so wonderful! I'm just thrilled! I love this!
26. Some are more formal, others are more homey, and each one has its place. At one praise time, you might feel more like saying great and glorious things to Jesus, our King of kings and Lord of lords, Who was, and is now, and evermore shall be! At another time, you may just want to sit beside Jesus with His arm around you and tell Him all the ways that you appreciate and admire Him as your Friend and as your Husband. At another time you may be excited with His kisses and His caresses and may want to talk to Him more intimately, telling Him how much you love Him as your sexy love partner and wonderful Husband. He loves for us to talk to Him and praise Him in whatever way we feel like at the time.
27. Another idea that I had for these is to not only put them in GNs, but eventually make them into a book of praise prayers, God willing, and I think He is! Also, after we get them finalized for a GN, we can have them recorded so we can listen to them on tape during our quiet times. Won't that be wonderful? I already tried this and it's such a blessing. I repeat each phrase of the prayers as I hear them on tape. This way I can enter in completely by making the prayer my own, entering into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise!
28. He's putting a new song on our lips, even greater praise than ever! He says He dwells in the praises of His people, and we give Him pleasure when we love Him with our words. So let's praise Him with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul, and let Him put those praises on our lips! Okay? I'm sure you'll all catch on to this, too, and be getting your own before long! You can use your private devotional praise time with the Lord to receive these prophecies, and though it may take a little more effort, you will be so satisfied with the results that the effort won't matter! You'll feel edified and refreshed and inspired and thrilled that the Lord can give you words for the thoughts of your heart that you have difficulty expressing on your own, and He can pray those prayers of praise through you! The Lord says we'll be known as the "prophets of praise!" Hallelujah!
29. After everyone here had been having so much fun getting these praise prophecies, I had the idea to ask the Lord to give us a little confirmation on the project. None of us needed any confirmation, but I just love to hear the Lord talk about things. Even though I was absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a great idea from the Lord, and it was bearing such wonderful fruit, I still thought the Lord might have some things to say about it that I hadn't thought about!--He always does! So I prayed and asked Him for His official "seal of approval" on the project, and here's what He said:
Prophets of Praise!
30. ({\ul \i Prophecy, Jesus speaking:)} Praise is the victory! Praise brings hope and strength! Praise brings light and life! Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord! Lift up your hands and praise the Lord! Lift up your voices and ring out songs of praise, words of praise, tongues of praise!
31. Oh, that My children would be children of praise! Oh, that they would constantly have a word and a song of praise in their hearts and on their lips! For when you are praising, then I can envelop you in My Spirit. It helps to ward off the attacks of doubts and fears and worries put on your mind by the Evil One. Praise brings great strength, because praise helps you to keep your mind stayed on Me. My people ought always to praise and not to faint, and not to become weary in well doing.
32. To help you to praise without ceasing, I want to teach you how you can praise Me with words that express your inner desires--using words of today, words of your language, words of your generation, words that will ring true in your heart, and words that will express how you feel. Teach My children that they can speak these words of praise to Me and that it will draw them closer to Me because it will help them to put into words the love that they feel for Me. It will be a declaration of their faith, their dedication, their single-mindedness, and their love. These words of praise will help them to articulate all that they feel inside, but which they have difficulty expressing.
33. So give My children today's words of praise! Let Me inspire your channels with My Words and My thoughts and the things that I desire to hear from My children, and I will pour forth in great abundance and great variety. I long to teach My children how to praise Me from their hearts so that they might find greater joy and greater intimacy with Me.
34. I want them to see that they don't have to be eloquent or sophisticated. I desire not that they speak to Me as if I am so far away. I don't want them to feel that they have to weigh their words and be so careful, but I want them to see that they can speak their praise to Me in their own words, in their own language, and in a way that will mean the most to them. I long to give many examples so that they may see many ways to praise Me, so that they will be set free to praise and praise and praise to their heart's content!
35. I long to free My children in every way! I long to give them freedom to love Me! I long to give My children such liberty, if they could just receive it and see it and believe it! So give them these praise prayers, these praise prophecies, these praise messages, these declarations, these pledges, these words of love to Me. Give and hold not back, for My children long to praise Me, but they need to be set free! They need an example. As you, My queen, have given them other examples of things to say in their love words or their words of consideration, so give them examples of words of praise, and from these examples they will grow and grow. They will find greater freedom, greater communication with Me, and greater anointing.
36. As your children learn to praise Me with more intimacy, with more freedom, with more frequency, so will they learn to communicate with Me more naturally. They will become more accustomed to constantly looking to Me, seeking My advice, seeking My words of instruction and thanking Me for their many blessings. This is all part of bringing your children into greater communication with Me. I want them to learn to love Me, to hear My voice, and to praise Me. So the more examples you can give, the better, for examples make the way plain and easy. Examples make the doorknob lower, so My children will be more willing to reach out and to open the door and to enter into the new world of the new day--a world of greater freedom, greater anointing, and greater communication with Me.
37. All of this works together, don't you see?--Loving Me more, hearing from Me more, and praising Me more. All of this works together to bring your children into a closer walk with Me, these My lovely, lovely children of David! How I long for them to have a closer walk with Me! They are willing, they are desirous of this closer walk. It is their heart's desire. It is their daily prayer, but they need instruction and guidance and an example. So freely give! Let your channels open their praise valves and I will abundantly pour forth words of praise, songs of praise, poems of praise, pictures of praise! There will be something for everybody!
38. Praise is so important! Praise is precious! Praise is valuable! Praise is the way of the Kingdom! Praise is the opposite of the way of the world. The Devil brings his people into bondage through fear and worry and contention and bitterness and murmuring. But I long to bring My children into freedom through praise and thanksgiving! So help them to open their eyes to their many, many blessings by helping them to articulate their praise, and this will bring Me such joy!
39. I find great pleasure in the praise of My children. Just as you find great pleasure in the compliments and praise of your lover, so do I find great joy in the praise of My Bride. As you praise Me for My blessings, for My supply, for My protection, for My words of love, for My guidance and instruction, so will I open the windows of Heaven and pour forth all these things in greater abundance!
40. Give My children the examples, the illustrations, and I will teach all My children to praise as never before! My people shall be known as a people of praise, prophets of praise. They will be a whirlwind of praise, beautiful and powerful in My sight! So think not that this is a small thing, for it is a great and powerful thing! This whirlwind of praise shall sweep the Earth, and in its wake will be showers of blessings! It will be a testimony to all who look upon My prophets of praise, that I honor and reward those who come to Me with praise and honor and glory. (End of prophecy.)
41. ({\ul \i Mama:)} Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus, our wonderful Lover and King and Husband and exciting Revolutionary! He's more than we could ever hope or dream, and He's got such wonderful things yet in store for us! Let's all have a wonderful time loving and praising Him! I love you!
Yours, in His praise, Mama.
42. P.S. Since we wanted to get these praise prophecies out to you quickly and in a form which you could more easily use in your praise times, we took short excerpts from the full-length ones to present to you here! We're printing them separately in boxes, like verses or precious promises, so you can cut them up for easier use if you wish. We'll be publishing the full prophecies at a later date, Lord willing.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family