by Rev. Susan Wallace
I’ve had a wonderful word coming to me lately. “Hallelujah!” It is a word that is linked forever in my heart to Padre Ron Roth, from whom I learned that Hallelujah, from Hebrew, means “Praise God.” In the Old Testament, it was prayed as a command that we are to dedicate ourselves to praising God.
Most of the ways that humans relate to praise is as a form of reward, employed to reinforce an action or behavior. Parents use it to teach table manners, obedience, and toilet training. Bosses use it to encourage attendance and good work habits. Sports coaches use praise to encourage team spirit and effort. Since most of us like to be regarded positively, praise works well as a training tool. But in our relationship with God, the command to praise is for us. Continually praising God is a guidepost that keeps us aware of our relationship to the Divine. It reminds us that we are safe, we are taken care of, we are supported in fulfilling our life purpose by a God who loves us beyond human comprehension. Praising God is a holy prayer that continually uplifts us.
“Jesus Calling” encourages us, “Praise puts you in proper relationship with Me, opening the way for My riches to flow into you. The power of praise is centering your whole being on Me. This is how I created you to live. Enjoy abundant life by overflowing with praise.”
In “Deep Worship in Heaven,” Dean Braxton says “Every time we praise God, we experience new love from Him and for Him. Worship is always personal. God always sees you loving Him and Him loving you.”
Dietrech Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran minister, wrote “God has prepared for Himself one great song of praise throughout eternity, and those who enter the community of God sing this song.”
In his poem/song, “Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen wrote “There’s a blaze of Light in every word. It doesn’t matter what you heard, the holy or the broken Hallelujah.” Cohen reminds us to bring the Hallelujah into every area of our lives. Rev. Nick Baines said, “We can all use the word Hallelujah because it comes from being open and transparent before God.”
In “The Jeshua Code” James Twyman writes, “There is a sound in Hebrew that means ‘it is so.’ It is a powerful interpretation of the word YES. The sound is Yesh. Say it out loud, drawing it out. It is so. Your Christ-Mind is so. As you chant this sound over and over, let your heart awaken to this knowledge. YESH is within you now. Your awakened mind is present, waiting for you to claim it. Now add the final sound U-A. YESHUA. I am not the one you are chanting to. I do not need the recognition. But you do. It is time for you to claim who you are. Call to the Christ in you, and it will awaken.”
May you be filled with Hallelujah.
Rev. Susan Wallace