What’s the Password?
“This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.”
Psalm 118:20 NIV
Do you ever feel like you’re missing something? Do you see or hear about God doing amazing things in other people’s lives and wonder if they’re in on some kind of secret you aren’t privy to? Psalm 118:20 (NIV) states that “the righteous may enter” the Lord’s gate. What does that mean? Do we have to somehow make ourselves worthy to enter God’s presence? I looked up the words “righteous” and “righteousness” in The Student Bible Dictionary, and it referred me to the following Scripture verses:
- “And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3:18 NIV)
- “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
- “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Here are the definitions:
“RIGHTEOUS. Right or just, right with God. . . . A person is made right only through God in Christ . . . .”
“RIGHTEOUSNESS. Rightness by God’s standards . . . . Justice, fairness. Matching life with God’s commandments, love, and purposes. Action based on love for God and a relationship with God.”
The Student Bible Dictionary
So being “righteous” means being right with God, and only Christ can do that for us. If we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we are righteous before God and worthy to enter His presence. Okay, that’s good news. But sometimes it seems like we’re still missing something. Is there also some kind of password we need to know? Actually, yes . . .
“You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise.
Psalm 100:4-5 TPT
Come right into his presence with thanksgiving.
Come bring your thank offering to him
and affectionately bless his beautiful name!
For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you.
He’s so loving that it will amaze you —
so kind that it will astound you!
And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all.
Everyone knows our God can be trusted,
for he keeps his promises to every generation!”
We can pass through His gates with the password of praise. We are invited to come into His presence with thanksgiving. We are called to bless His beautiful name. God wants us to approach Him with reverence, adoration, and gratitude for who He is and for what He’s done. Before we bring our requests to Him, He wants us to bring our praise to Him. But why? God is not vain or insecure. He certainly doesn’t need our accolades. So why does He ask us to do this? There are two main reasons. First of all, as our Creator, He deserves it. Scripture makes it clear that we were created to glorify Him:
- “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11 ESV)
- “Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11 NIV)
- “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV)
It’s in our nature to worship. It’s how He made us. We were created to be in relationship with Him for His pleasure and His glory. Apart from Him our lives are meaningless. We cannot understand or comprehend our place in this universe unless we view it in the proper way: we are God’s children, created by Him and for Him.
“Worship is a critical component of prayer that is often overlooked and it’s important for more than one reason. First, God is worthy of all praise. As human beings, we were created to worship and when we fail to worship God, we wind up worshiping things other than God and we fall into the trap of idolatry. . . . If we believe God is worthy of praise, we will be people who worship Him in prayer.“
Pray Like This
All of God’s creation exists to bring Him glory. This is our first and foremost purpose in life. So praising God is the key to understanding everything else. Coming into His presence with blessing and honor and thanksgiving is the password that opens the door to the path He wants us to follow. We can’t learn anything else until we learn to put Him first in our lives. Jesus taught us that our prayers should always begin by acknowledging the holy name of our heavenly Father. And He taught us that God’s will, not our own, is the priority.
“Pray like this:
Matthew 6:9-10 NLT
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
As we learn to pray this way, we allow God to work in us to align our desires with His own. His will becomes our will. We begin to be transformed into the image of Christ. When we submit to God’s ways and obey His instructions, He can do amazing things through us!
“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
Psalm 32:8-9 NLT
I will advise you and watch over you.
Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.'”
The second reason God want us to come to Him in praise and worship is that it’s good for us. When we turn our attention away from ourselves and focus instead on our all-powerful Creator, our problems seem small in comparison. Taking the time to thank God for all He’s done puts everything in the proper perspective. Remembering that He cares for us and that He can do the impossible makes us open to His leading so that He can guide us through whatever hardships we are facing.
When we feel overwhelmed and like we’re drowning in problems, our Rescuer can’t help us if we panic and thrash around instead of taking His hand. If all we’re doing is screaming for help, we can’t hear Him tell us what we need to do. If we need Him to hit us over the head with a frying pan before we’ll listen, He will, but that’s not the way He wants to guide us. Going to God with praise and thanksgiving reminds us to calm down and let Him help us. We can trust Him to guide us and strengthen us for whatever challenges we are facing. He will save us from drowning in worry and fear if we will let Him.
“One of the reasons God calls us to worship Him is because it reminds us of the magnitude of the God we serve and reorients our thinking. As we worship God, we might call Him by the different names He’s called in Scripture that speak to His attributes, or we worship Him for a specific way He’s working in our life or because how we’ve seen Him reveal Himself in Scripture.”
Pray Like This
Often we don’t learn to trust God fully until we’ve let Him save us from something — worry, anxiety, fear, doubt, sin, guilt, or anything else that has made us feel like we were drowning. But once we’ve let Him pull us safely to shore, we can begin a whole new life with Him. If we continue to follow Him, He will lead us down an exciting path full of wonder and adventure. As we walk with Him every day, we begin to trust Him more and more, and we long to praise Him more and more. We can’t help it! Our hearts begin to overflow with joy and thanksgiving for what He’s done for us.
“At times, we come before the Lord, and it’s possible we’re not really certain of what is causing the struggles we’re living with. But then God reveals something very personal and private to us — some way He is healing or providing for us. This leads us to understand how deeply and intimately God loves us and cares for the issues closest to our hearts. He speaks directly to our most cherished hopes and answers the deepest questions of our souls through His Word in ways we never imagined possible. And it causes us to worship Him. If you’ve never experienced that, I pray the Lord will open Scripture to you in that way. Because God’s Word reveals who He is and how much He loves you in a manner nothing else can. And that can change everything for you.”
Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life
When we come to God with praise and thanksgiving, we prepare ourselves to hear his voice through His Word. When we learn to listen, we will hear Him. This experience alone can rock your world! I know. It’s happened to me. God has spoken to me in a very real and personal way about my hopes and dreams and the longings of my heart. And there’s nothing extra-special about me. This is what He does. If you let go of yourself a little and just trust Him, He’ll do the same for you.
Recall the definition of “righteousness” we discussed at the beginning of this post: “RIGHTEOUSNESS. . . . Matching life with God’s commandments, love, and purposes. Action based on love for God and a relationship with God.” (Student Bible Dictionary) This is what life is all about. Spending time in God’s presence because we desire Him more than anyone or anything else, learning to walk in step with Him every day, and letting everything we say and do be for His glory unlocks the gate to a joy like we’ve never known!
“And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.”
Colossians 2:6-7 TLB
This week’s Scripture passages focus on praising God. Praise is the password that brings us into the presence of God and allows us Him to guide us along the best pathway for our lives.
“Worship God. Applaud him loud and often.
Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life
For your sake, you need it. And for heaven’s sake, he deserves it.”
References:
- Dockrey, Karen, et al. The Student Bible Dictionary. Barbour, 2000.
- Lucado, Max. Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot. W Publishing Group, 2005.
- Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal. LifeWay Press, 2020.
- Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
- Tangled. Dir. Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2010.
- “Tangled (HD, 2010). Wrong Password.” YouTube, uploaded by Best Movie Spoilers, 31 August 2016, https://youtu.be/sw0vg8N1Zi4.
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About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!