“Praise is the prayer that changes everything!” – Stormie Omartian

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4)

Where do you find peace in the midst of the financial storm?

Our nation in under the judgment of God. We are seeing the consequences of years of greed, selfishness, immorality, etc. The potential ramifications of the current financial storm are much worse than the terrorist attacks of 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina.

Two weeks ago, we witnessed our federal government scramble to come up with a $700 billion bailout plan for some of our major banks despite three fourths of Americans being opposed to that.

According to an article at Forbes.com yesterday evening, “The stock market finished mixed on Friday (Oct 10), capping off a gruesome week that wiped out $2.4 trillion from the stock market as investors grew fearful about stubbornly tight credit and the prospect of a severe recession. The Dow Jones industrial average, after eight consecutive daily losses, finished at its lowest level since April 2003, and suffered its worst weekly percentage loss ever.”

For the week, the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq are down 18%, 15%, and 15% respectively. For the year, the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq are down 36%, 39%, and 39% respectively.

If we add this up, that’s a loss of more than $3 trillion for Americans in two weeks. If we divide this large amount by 100+ million households in America, that’s $30,000 per household. But the loss around the world is much greater than that because the U.S. crisis has shaken the stock markets in Europe and Asia as well. The Forex (Foreign Exchange) is the largest market in the world and trades daily about five times what the U.S. stock and bond markets do combined.

If you research the underlying factors in the current U.S. financial crisis, you will discover that our foundations are much worse than they were before the Great Depression in 1929. Now superimpose all the greed, selfishness, immorality, etc so prevalent in our nation and we have a recipe for disaster. In just one day, each of us can lose everything financially that we have saved for so long.

Our government doesn’t have a clue to what it’s purpose is anymore. It’s grown to the point where it’s trying to be all things to all people. We have hundreds of thousands of laws that erode away at personal freedoms instead of building our foundation on the Ten Commandments which God gave us. One of those Commandments is “Thou shalt not covet!” Covetousness is a big reason why we are experience such a financial crisis.

OK, so where do you find PEACE in the midst of this financial storm? It’s in the house of the LORD as Psalm 27:4 describes above. It’s in prayer – communion with God. And praise is the prayer that changes everything. God inhabits His praises.

Yesterday evening after riding my bicycle 18 miles, I spent about 2 hours watching various “Jesus” and “praise” videos on GodTube first and then YouTube. Finally, I found one that I knew was the right one for this message. Watch it at today’s Link of the Day.

Prayer Power
LORD Jesus, we praise You as the God who offers peace in the midst of any storm. Barack Obama doesn’t have the answers. John McCain doesn’t have the answers. Our government doesn’t have the answers. Only You do. May each of us keep our eyes focused on You, Jesus. May we be bold and step out of the boat to walk on water and do what You have called us to do. May we live our lives on purpose – for You and not ourselves. May we prepare the way for Your soon coming. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Chris Tomlin – How great is our God – YouTube video with more than 2.3 million views

Blessings to find peace with Jesus in the midst of this storm!