Praise is powerful! When Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne was troubled with a coldness of heart toward the things of the Lord, he would sing the praises of God until he felt revived in his spirit. Those in his household were often able to tell what hour he awoke because he began the day with a psalm of praise.
One day, while he was trying to prepare his heart for preaching, he wrote in his journal, “Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? … Lord, You know all things…I’ve felt so much deadness and grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Toward evening I revived. Got a calm spirit through singing psalms and prayer.” McCheyne had been lifted up by praising God.
The Lord has anointed Me…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.
~Isaiah 61:1,3