Right before Mary gave birth to Christ, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to sing praise. She began to sing a song unto the Lord. She became the fulfillment of Miriam. “Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah [which means praise]” (Luke 1:39, NKJV).
Do you think God was trying to tell us something here? She went with haste to the city of praise, entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth (John the Baptist’s mother), “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41).
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 42). “Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord'” (vv. 42-45).
Mary responded, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant'” (Luke 1:46-48a). Her praise concludes in verse 56 with, “And Mary remained with her for about three months, and returned to her house.”
How long were they journeying in the wilderness? There are many prophetic fulfillments all over the Bible. In the book of Exodus, we see Miriam praising the Lord. Then the people go into the wilderness for three days, where the bitter waters become sweet. We see Mary, who praises the Lord. She is also named Miriam, which stands for “praise.” “And she is filled and praises the Lord.
“She stayed there for about three months” (Luke 1:56). Where? In the city of Judah, the city of praise. Don’t get discouraged when you enter into praise and are entered into the wilderness of Shur as mentioned in Exodus 15:22-25.
Praise is our greatest weapon. We focus on the Lord, not our circumstances. We focus on the Lord, not our issues. Bitterness comes in when you focus on the issues because your eyes are no longer fixed on the Lord. When you focus on your issues, you are basically saying “God, I don’t trust you.”
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Praise is a declaration of faith in who He is in the face of your situation. In reality, the question is, whose report are you going to believe? The lies and deceptions? Or that of your Creator who has been there for His children time and again?
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If you want God’s perspective, you need to get into God’s presence. But in order to get into God’s presence, you need to get into praise. Praise, presence, perspective, perception and prayer. It is prayer, praise, presence, perception, propose and plans. Everything starts with prayer, then praise and perception. Prayer and praise change your perspective and your perception. Some of your mindsets need to be thrown into hell, where they came from.
You need to stop focusing on the distractions. Praise brings His presence, which releases His perspective. We are stuck because of our perspective. We see the glass as half empty when in reality, it is half full. A person who does not get into the presence of God through praise and prayer looks at everything as empty. But the person who gets into prayer and praise sees fulfillment, sees the filling. That person sees what looks like lack as full from their perspective.
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Those who walk in the spirit do not walk in the flesh. They do not walk with the dictates and the perspectives of the flesh. Jesus was not led by a perspective of His flesh. He had the perceptions of the Father. Where everyone saw death, He saw life. Where they saw sickness, He saw healings. Where everybody else saw lack, He saw abundance. Be like Mary in Luke 1: Make haste to go to the city of praise. She made haste to be at the feet of Jesus.
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Chris Garcia is the founder of Father’s Glory International. Father’s Glory is devoted to promoting God’s manifested presence and power through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Father’s glory, and it is through the unveiling of the Son that lives are transformed. Chris is also a revivalist with a heart for the local church and serves as the lead overseer at House of Glory in Fort Smith, Arkansas. House of Glory is a Spirit-filled, fivefold apostolic revival hub that exists to cultivate the presence of God and the power of the gospel regionally and internationally. God is looking for those who will give Him a place to rest and allow His people to interact with His presence, power and glory. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.” It is for His glory that we proclaim His name. Chris and his wife, Zuly, reside in the Fort Smith area with their three children. His new book, “Fresh Oil,” releases Tuesday, Nov. 5, and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.
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