But You are holy, O You Who dwell in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered (Psalm 22:3 – Amplified).
Believers have several weapons at their disposal as they fight the good fight of faith. They have the Word of God, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and praise and worship!
The Father watches over His Word to make it good when we speak the Word of God from heartfelt faith. Then the Lord said to me, You have seen well, for I am actively watching over My word to fulfill it. (Jeremiah 1:12 – Amplified). The spoken Word of God from the lips of a believer cuts through unbelief, fear, doubt, depression, and whatever else hell would bring to your life!
Demonic forces tremble when the command of faith is given in the Name of Jesus. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father(Philippians 2: 9-11)! Those under the earth are the demonic forces that seek to hinder human life. They must bow to the name of Jesus spoken in faith!
And we overcome Satan forces by the blood of Jesus and the word of God spoken out of our mouth: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11).
But of all the weapons in our arsenal, perhaps praise is the strongest. When praise is offered, God Almighty shows up in the atmosphere! The weightiness of God, the power of who He is manifests when praise is uttered. The power of God’s kingdom is aroused when our praise and worship are expressed.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were praising and worship so loudly that the other prisoners heard them as they were held in chains in the dark prison. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
Instead of the atmosphere of the prison invading them, they decided to invade that atmosphere of darkness with the presence of God! And their chains fell off, the prison doors were opened, and they were set free! God responded to their praise, shaking the ground under their feet, and shaking the unbelief around them that threatened their lives!
During battle, the Israelites were instructed to put Judah (praise) in the forefront of the combat. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you…And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20;15-17, 21-22).
They would sing, for the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever! Israel’s enemies would be defeated time after time by an unseen host of angels as Israel fought with the weapons of a new type of spiritual warfare, praise and worship!
God has not changed. He still responds to praise by pouring out the power of His presence, causing unseen enemies to flee! Years ago, I was attacked physically with a terrible case of the flu that came upon me quickly. I ached all over. I felt weak. I called my secretary and told her to cancel my appointments for the day. As I lay in bed listening to scripture on a cassette tape (back in the 80’s), the Lord spoke so strongly to me: If you believe you receive healing, then get up and praise Me! I got up and walked around my bed for ten minutes, praising God. Suddenly, the power of God came upon me from my head to my feet. I could feel it surge through me. Every single flu symptom left as quickly as it came! I called my secretary and told her I would keep my appointments and went on to work that day. Praise is an awesome weapon!
Don’t cower down to circumstances, fear, lack, doubt, sickness, or anything else that confronts you today. Pull out that weapon of praise, and allow the Lord to fight your battles. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s and the victory is ours to enjoy!