“Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.

 For I cried out to him for help praising him as I spoke.

If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

But God did listen!”

Psalm 66:16-19a NLT

If you are in need of wisdom for a decision or a breakthrough in a relationship or a job or a miracle, this Psalm outlines a nice recipe for answered prayer. First the writer, “cried out to him.” This tells me that he was truly desperate. No one cries out for help unless they are in extreme need. But we see that in the same breath, while in the act of crying out, he declares his praise at the same time. Perhaps something like this:  “God, I need your help! I praise You that You are working in my circumstances now! Thank you that you will never leave me or forsake me. You know exactly how to fix this problem, Lord, and I have complete faith in You to accomplish what I’m asking and even more.”

Try praying this way. It’s impossible to whine or complain when you’re praising. God, like a good Father, doesn’t respond to whining. But when we praise Him, we are the ones who benefit; praise adjusts our attitude, clears our head of unbelief, and gets us in the frame of mind to receive our answer. So, for crying out loud, cry out loud, but praise out loud, too!