Podcast Summary:

When You Put A Praise On It, Heaven Moves

Guest Speaker: Russell Evans (Planetshakers)
Host: Jabin Chavez
Podcast: City Light Church Las Vegas
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Overview

In this vibrant message, guest pastor Russell Evans (founder of Planetshakers) challenges listeners with the transformative power of praise in every circumstance. Using the story of Paul and Silas from Acts 16 as a central anchor, Evans unpacks how praise in adversity not only brings personal breakthrough but also causes “heaven to move.” With a mix of humor, powerful testimonies, and practical theology, he invites the church to become a light in the darkness by maintaining a spirit of praise—especially before the breakthrough comes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Encounter vs. Information

• Evans opens by honoring the church and its leadership, stressing the uniqueness of encountering God's presence—not just absorbing sermons or worship songs.
• Quote: "People forget our sermons and sometimes they forget our songs, but they never forget when they encounter God. Church should be a place of encounter, not just information, but impartation." (01:34)

2. The Acts 16 Story: Paul and Silas in Prison

• Context: Evans reads and narrates Acts 16:16-40 (NLT), focusing on Paul and Silas being unjustly beaten and imprisoned for casting a spirit out of a slave girl.
• Paraphrase: Paul and Silas, even after being mistreated, choose to pray and praise at midnight, resulting in a supernatural earthquake that unlocks all the prison doors and chains—demonstrating the liberating power of worship.
• Quote: "Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns...The name that put them in jail is the name they sang and prayed to in jail." (09:10)

3. Praise as Legal Access and Spiritual Strategy

• Evans explores the concept that praise is more than emotional release; it is legal access to the courts of heaven and a strategic act in spiritual warfare.
• Quote: "Praise is not just a sound. It's a summons to the throne of God. It's a strategy of the battlefield." (16:58)
• Supporting Scripture: Hebrews 4:16 - “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace...” (18:27)

4. Personal and Family Testimonies

• Evans recounts his mother’s deliverance from severe depression, emphasizing persistence in praise even when nothing seems to change.
• Story highlights: After months of praising God through pain, she experiences total freedom through a radical encounter with the Holy Spirit.
  • “She’d get up, she was heavy Depressed, she’d pull herself out of bed, go, God, I praise you. I don’t understand, but you’re good. I lift your name.... For 10 minutes it was like chewing glass. But then after 10 minutes it would lift because God gives you the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (22:55)
• Roots of Planetshakers’ global worship ministry are traced to his mother’s lifestyle of praise.

5. Praise Before the Breakthrough

• Evans emphasizes praising God ahead of victory, not just once it is visible.
• Quote: “They didn’t sing after they got free. They sang their way into freedom. Some of us are waiting to praise after the breakthrough. But faith says, I’ll pray until it breaks through. Put a praise on it.” (29:00)
• The story of Amanda (woman medically expected not to survive, who recovered as her family praised in the ICU) illustrates this principle.

6. Praise Shifts Atmospheres and Impacts Cities

• Encourages listeners that their praise not only unlocks their own prison doors but also brings light to those around.
• Quote: “The jailer called for a light, because the world is looking for somebody to turn the light on. This city is looking for a light that will put a praise on it, even when in a prison.” (12:28)

7. Practical Call to Praise as Battle Strategy

• Underscores the biblical pattern of sending Judah (praise) ahead into battle; encourages the congregation to make praise their first response.
• Quote: “Wherever praise goes, God shows up. Wherever praise leads, victory is announced before a sword is even drawn. Praise shifts the atmosphere, confuses the enemy.” (28:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Praise Changing Language and Atmosphere:
  “They come in prisoner. Now, sirs, the language has changed because praise changed the language. What must I do to be saved?” (14:06)
• On Dealing With Spiritual Opposition:
  “Stop getting mad at people. Get mad at the spirit that’s behind them. Because if you can see it’s the spirit that's behind them, you won’t have offense with the person.” (05:58)
• On Perspective in Suffering:
  “My mum used to call this world 'training for reigning.'” (11:11)
• On Accessing God’s Courtroom:
  “Paul and Silas weren’t appealing to the local magistrates. They weren’t begging Rome. They knew who to call on. They used praise as their legal access to the highest court in heaven.” (19:41)
• Testimony in Worship:
  “‘I don’t remember anything, but I remember a sound. I heard a phrase and I followed that sound back to life.’ She walked out of the hospital two weeks later, fully healed.” (31:07)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – 03:00 – Introduction; the importance of encounter over information
• 03:00 – 09:30 – Paul & Silas’ story in Acts 16; identifying the real spiritual battle
• 09:30 – 16:00 – Power of praise in prison; light in the darkness; impact on the jailer
• 16:00 – 20:00 – Praise as legal access to heaven’s courts; approaching God’s throne in worship
• 20:00 – 27:30 – Personal family testimony: Russell’s mother’s deliverance from depression through praise
• 27:30 – 30:00 – Sending praise ahead into battle; praise as spiritual warfare
• 30:00 – End – Amanda’s miracle in the ICU; closing exhortation and worship

Closing Exhortation

• Russell Evans:
  • “Praise brings you into God’s courts. Praise brings God into your battles. And no prison can hold a believer who knows the power of praise. So wherever you are, you need a breakthrough, praise before the breakthrough.” (31:45)

Final Worship & Reflection

The episode concludes with the congregation singing “All My Life You Have Been Faithful,” reinforcing the theme that God’s goodness pursues those who choose praise regardless of circumstance. Evans encourages listeners not to chase blessings (“surely goodness and mercy”), but to pursue God in praise, assuring them that blessings will then follow.

Takeaway:
Whether facing literal or metaphorical prisons, listeners are invited to make praise their first response. Through personal story and biblical example, Russell Evans demonstrates that praise shifts atmospheres, unlocks supernatural solutions, and turns even the darkest situations into testimonies of God’s power.