This Tragedy Taught CeCe Winans the ‘Power of Praise’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Gospel icon CeCe Winans is sharing the real-life event that showed her “the power of praise.”
“My father has gone on to be with the Lord,” she said during an episode of TBN’s PRAISE. “My mom and dad were strong believers. My mom is still with me, and I am so grateful for them. I’m so grateful for the way they raised us in the church…but my father was one to praise God. He loved to worship Him in song. Wherever he is in heaven…let’s just say it like this: he’s making a lot of noise. He’s not quiet.”
Winans continued, “As a kid sometimes, I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear him just singing and anointing our heads with oil and praising God and worshiping God. And so, as a kid…I thought, ‘I don’t know. He’s kind of crazy.’ But as you read the scriptures about praise and worship and how God inhabits the praises of His people…I caught on to that. And I saw my dad do something that marked me for life, and that is when my second eldest brother passed.”
“We were all around the bed in the hospital room, and when [Winans’ brother] Ronald took his last breath, my father’s hands went up and he just began to worship God, and his first words were, ‘Lord, I thank You for the years You gave us Ronald. I thank you.’ I looked at him and I was just like, ‘That’s your first response?’ But seeing how God carried my parents through that, losing a child…[my dad] understood the power of praise,” she explained.
She said, “So, when I’m going through a rough time, a challenging time, I know even if I’m crying, I’m crying with my hands lifted up, and it gives me the strength, because worship always puts your focus on the greatness of God. Even when life hits us…I know to cry out to Him, and that’s why I think I’m so passionate about worship, because I understand it is a gift. It is a weapon.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the death of Winans’ brother:
Winans has previously spoken about how her brother’s death impacted her faith.
At one point, Ronald suffered massive heart failure. Doctors told the family he didn’t make it, but Winans recalled her father saying, “Well, can we pray for you? And you go back in and give it another try?”
“And the doctor looked at us and said, ‘Hey, if you want to.’ And we all began to pray,” she continued.
Shortly after the family began praying, the doctors went back to the operating room and revived Ronald.
“So, we lost him. But the God that specializes in the impossible brought him back,” Winans said. “And so, if God can raise the dead, He can handle anything that you’re going through, anything that you’ve been through. He can handle what you’re facing right now, and He knows what’s happening in the future. God responds to our faith. So, don’t be nervous. Believe. And God will show up and do what only He can do.”
Winans recently celebrated 40 years of marriage with her husband, Alvin Love II.
“Happy 40th Anniversary! God’s unconditional love for us makes it possible for us to love each other unconditionally! Thank you Jesus!” she captioned a slideshow of images of the pair.
In an interview with Today’s Christian Woman, Winans said, “Alvin and I help each other a lot. It’s amazing how when I’m upset or mad, he can be so calm and practical. Then the next day, he’ll be upset, and I’ll be able to say, ‘Ba’y, it’s OK.’ We praise God that we can help each other.”
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