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By Rev. Gyakari
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
— Psalm 100:4
If you want to enter into the courtyard of God — that place of intimate access to His presence — two things must lead the way: thanksgiving and praise. These are not interchangeable words describing the same act. They are two distinct gates, and Scripture deliberately places them in order. Thanksgiving brings you to the gates; praise ushers you into the courts. You cannot bypass one and expect to fully arrive at the other.
THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is a powerful spiritual exercise, yet many believers struggle to practise it consistently. There are people who feel they have nothing to thank God for — not because God has done nothing, but because they lack the depth of gratitude in their hearts required to recognise His hand. When you begin to attribute your achievements solely to your own effort, wisdom, and intelligence, it quietly erodes your prayer life. A heart with no gratitude has little reason to lift its eyes to heaven and say, “Lord, thank You.” And a heart that stops saying thank You eventually stops expecting anything more from God.
Some of the greatest miracles in Scripture happened simply because someone chose to give thanks first.
1. Jesus Raised the Dead Through Thanksgiving
“So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.’”
— John 11:41
Before Lazarus walked out of that tomb, before the stone was even fully analysed for what was about to happen, Jesus paused and thanked God. He did not wait until after the miracle to express gratitude — He gave thanks first and then believed the miracle into being. Gratitude itself became the key that unlocked the door to the supernatural.
2. Jesus Fed Five Thousand Through Thanksgiving
“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were seated.”
— John 6:11
Again, before the multiplication took place, Jesus gave thanks. He did not have a basket overflowing with bread to be grateful for — he had five loaves and two fish for a crowd of thousands. Yet He thanked God for what seemed insufficient, and that small act of gratitude opened the door for abundance.
Thanking God unleashes His power toward you. Whenever genuine thanksgiving rises from deep within the heart, God finds a reason to draw you further into His presence. Gratitude is not merely good manners toward Heaven — it is a spiritual force that moves the hand of God.
PRAISE
God delights in our praise. As the Psalmist declared, “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting” (Psalm 147:1). Praise is not a burden God imposes on us — it is something He finds genuinely pleasant, and something that is fitting for who He is.
Music Is a Powerful Vehicle for Praise
“Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.”
— Psalm 108:1-3
Music is an inseparable part of praise, and it is one of the most powerful spiritual exercises available to believers — yet many ignore its power in the realm of the Spirit entirely. What people often fail to recognise is that music is never neutral. The devil has destroyed countless lives through demonic, soul-consuming, and tormenting music. Destinies have been derailed through the songs people allowed to saturate their minds, and unfortunately, many take this danger far too lightly.
Music sinks deep into the human soul, and once it takes hold of the mind, it begins to govern our actions and reactions. If music carries such power to destroy when used wrongly, how much greater is its power to heal, deliver, and elevate when consecrated to God?
There are several biblical instances where music was specifically used to summon the presence of God for a divine assignment.
1. Elisha Was Ushered Into God’s Presence Through Music
“But now bring me a musician. And it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.”
— 2 Kings 3:13-15
Elisha called for a musician, and it was only after the music began that the hand of the Lord came upon him and he was able to prophesy. The music did something to his soul, spirit, and body — it shifted his atmosphere. Spiritual music has the ability to lift a person out of the natural realities surrounding them and into the spiritual realm. As a preacher, I have personally witnessed this many times.
When true worship rises, words of knowledge begin to flow, prophecy breaks out, and miracles start to happen. Worship is never just an opening act before “the real ministry” — worship often is the ministry.
2. Musicians Were Used to Win a War
“And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD… And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD… as they went out before the army.”
— 2 Chronicles 20:18-21
When Jehoshaphat saw the enemy army advancing against Israel, his response was not to gather his strongest soldiers to the front line — it was to send the praisers ahead of the army, singing and praising the Lord. As they sang, the Lord set ambushes against the enemies of Israel, and Judah did not need to lift a single sword. The battle was won through praise before it was ever fought through warfare.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.”
— Acts 16:25-26
Paul and Silas, beaten and chained in a Roman prison, did not respond with despair — they responded with praise. They sang until the very foundation of the prison shook and every chain fell off, not only from their own feet, but from every prisoner in that place. Their praise did not just secure their own freedom — it broke chains they were not even praying about.
WHAT PRAISE DOES IN THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER
1. Praise Reduces Anxiety
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice… do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
— Philippians 4:4-6
Before Paul instructed us not to be anxious about anything, he first instructed us to rejoice always. This order matters. Sometimes you can be genuinely joyful, and the people around you cannot understand why — they see the problems surrounding you, but you see Jesus already handling the situation, and so you rejoice anyway. Joy in the middle of difficulty is not denial; it is faith expressing itself out loud. Rejoice always. Stay filled with joy, regardless of what your circumstances are shouting at you.
2. Praise Creates an Atmosphere Hostile to the Enemy and Welcoming to God
“And David danced before the LORD with all his might.”
— 2 Samuel 6:14
David did not dance with restraint or self-consciousness — he danced with everything in him, unconcerned about how it looked to onlookers. I once visited a church to minister, and the atmosphere in the service was unusually flat and lifeless. I taught the congregation a praise song, and as they began to sing — with the keyboardist locking into a beautiful, anointed harmony — I watched the Lord begin to move. People were touched, and the oppression on several lives broke and gave way to deliverance, right there in that praise.
We must never allow the house of the Lord to become a comfortable resting place for demons and tormenting spirits. A church service that is spiritually flat, lukewarm, or merely entertaining can unknowingly become spiritually accommodating to the very forces it should be driving out. Sadly, many vulnerable people — including children — have been wounded and corrupted within church walls precisely because the atmosphere lacked the spiritual intensity that genuine praise produces. Praise is not decoration in a service; it is spiritual warfare, an open door for God’s presence, and a protective covering over God’s people.
Decree
I enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
My gratitude opens doors that striving could never open.
My praise breaks every chain assigned against my life.
I will rejoice always, for the Lord is handling what concerns me, in Jesus’ name.
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