Book: The Untapped Power in PraiseInfo: Copyright 1990: Tulsa: Kenneth Hagin Ministries
Rating (on a scale of 1-4 stars): ✮✭
Where Acquired: Correspondence Course curriculum.
What it's about: Hagin gives a brief snapshot of the power of the true worship of God. Using biblical illustrations, he encourages the reader to make praise and worship a part of daily life.
Favorite Quotes:
"The greatest cure known to mankind can be found in praising God. The greatest deliverance known to man is within the reach of every believer on the earth--and it is found in praising God from a sincere heart of love and gratitude. " - p. 2
"Praise is so important to the believer because it provides an avenue to help you stay in faith and to rise above the negative emotions that would try to bring you down into the arena of doubt and unbelief." - p. 51
"Basically, our praise services should reflect our deep reverence for God. Our praise and worship should reflect hearts and lives of people who are excited about their Heavenly Father." p. 55
"Why does praise lift us to new heights in God? Because praise is the language of faith. Praise is the language of victory. Praise is the language of heaven. Praise is the language of believing God with your heart and confessing your faith in Him with your mouth. The Bible says whatever you believe in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth (Matt 12:34).... A positive praise life requires diligence and boldness." - p. 65
"Sad to say, Satan devours too many Christians because they don’t know who they are in Christ and what their rights and privileges are as joint-heirs with Christ. The devil has rocked others to sleep in the cradle of self-complacency; they have become satisfied with what they have and where they are in God." - p 85
What I liked:
This book served as an encouraging reminder that my role as worshipper doesn't end when I leave the doors of the church. Also, he drives the point home that the privilege of worshipper isn't reserved only to those who sing well or play musical instruments; every believer in Christ is called to worship and praise.
What I didn’t like:
The book was extremely repetitive. After chapter three, Hagin rehashes the same points and many of the same scriptures from the previous chapters. By the time I got to chapter six, I found myself saying over and over, "OK, I get it."
Takeaway: There were some great nuggets of biblical truth in this offering by Hagin. However, it was sorely lacking and fell flat. There should have been more in-depth study on the elements of praise, how prayer and praise work together, and more practical instructions than "You should be doing this, so do it...and do it right!" Even if this book has not been part of a study course, I still would have expected more.
That's a total pet-peeve: When books repeat just to hit a length requirement. (I'm guessing - why else would you do it?) At least there were some good suggest! ;)
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know. It's a shame too. This book could have been so much more. There's several other books on worship I plan to read. Maybe they will go into more detail.
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