God Dwells Where He Is Praised

As Christians, we have actually entered a new kingdom. Colossians 1:13 says “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…”. Living in this new kingdom has many rights and privileges. One of the most awesome privileges is that he has made a way for us to build a dwelling place for him to actually reside in our lives.

Christians Are Eligible to be a Dwelling Place of God
Psalm 22:3 in the Amplified Translation reads: “But You are holy, O You Who dwell in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered.” This verse tells us that God, the Holy One actually dwells in the place where the praises of Israel are offered. You may say, I’m not a Jew so this doesn’t apply to me, however if you’re a believer in Jesus Romans 11:17 says that you have been “grafted in” and have become a partaker of both the root and the fatness of the olive tree. The olive tree here refers to Israel. Jesus is a Jew, and one of the miracles of salvation is that we “gentiles” are grafted into the same tree of blessing that God intends for Israel.

What Kind of Dwelling Place Does God Have in You?
Now, if God dwells in the place where praise is offered, it follows that we can construct a dwelling place in our lives for God with praise as the building materials. And what kind of dwelling place should we build for God to dwell in? It seems to me that if we praise God in a small, reserved way, then we may be building him only a little shack to dwell in, but if we praise God in a large and extravagant way, we’re building Him a large and extravagant place in which to dwell in our lives.

Habitation or Visitation?
Not only that, but we also can determine whether God has a place of habitation or just a place of visitation in our lives. If praise is something we do only when we come together in church, praise is then just a place for God to come visit us in. Alternatively, if we develop a lifestyle of praise, constantly offering up praise to God all throughout our days and nights, then we are building God a place of habitation- a real place for him to dwell in our lives. I believe that this is God’s desire for each of us, and I find that the more I praise God throughout my everyday life, the more of His presence I sense and am aware of. Make God a large, extravagant dwelling place in your life by living a lifestyle of large and extravagant praise every day!