2 Chronicles 20:20-24 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”21 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.”[c]22 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. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
In this thing called life, we will experience various battles. The battle may be concerning our health, our faith, our mind, our salvation and so on and so forth; the possibilities are endless. In the midst of the battle it feels extremely hard to praise God. It feels hard to praise when sickness knocks on either your door or one of your loved ones lives; it feels hard to praise when after years of praying for the salvation of your family, they still remain unsaved; it feels hard to praise when everything around you looks desolate.
At this point it doesn’t feel natural to praise, it’s almost as if weights are tied down to both of your hands thus not allowing you to lift them up. However it is at this point that your praise is needed the most in order to overcome the battle.We see in the scripture above that before the Israelites went into battle against their enemies, they intentionally sent out people praising and singing to God before them. This was because they understood that their praise was a weapon and this is where the enemy often uses our ignorance to our disadvantage.
When I say the word praise I don’t simply mean a fast song about Jesus. Here is an image where you can see the English definition of the word praise. We can praise God through song, we can praise Him through talking/praying. Praise is not necessarily about tempo but more about the content.
In terms of praising in the battle, I listed some things that praise does. This list is not exhaustive to praise neither is it an exhaustive list for the benefits of praise but in regards to having victory in a battle these are the few points I felt were the most prominent.
Praise keeps you in faith
Praise reminds you of how big your God is and as a result how small your situation is in comparison. Praise stills your heart and silences doubtful thoughts and honestly you need faith. In a battle, you NEED faith because a lack of faith will hinder you in your exchange with God and your victory over the devil. When praise becomes your first response, not only does the whole outcome of the battle have the ability to change but your whole experience through it WILL change. One thing I have realised is that once you’re in a battle, you are in a battle, you can either be in it lacking faith and not praising God or staying full of faith and having your heart guarded by His perfect peace. The choice is in your hands.
Praise causes God to boast
One of the aspects of praise is boasting in God and when you praise God, it causes God to want to boast and show himself strong. In scripture, when the Israelites were faced with trouble, they would pray and within their prayer, they would praise God and recall all of the great things He has done. They understood that by praising God for the great things He has done before, it demonstrates their belief in God and causes God to want to display his goodness in their present. It’s like if you did something for someone and they’re saying how thankful they are to you and praising you; when you hear that, if you have the means, it makes you want to provide for the person again. Same thing with God. When you praise an attribute of God, it causes God to want to reveal this attribute of himself. Rule of thumb: Remember, meditate and then praise a dimension of God that you would like to see manifest in a situation. So if you are going through a situation where you need to see God’s might, reflect on His mighty deeds of old and praise Him for his past victories. Combat the lie of the enemy head on. What did the Israelites sing? “Praise the Lord; For His mercy endures forever” and what did they see? That His mercy endures forever. How did they see this? By the Lord setting an ambush in their enemy’s camp despite any ungodly deeds they did against God in the past. Their praise mixed with faith caught the attention of the Father and caused Him to manifest His mercy over the Israelites once again by defeating their enemies.
Praises causes the enemy to be confused
As for this one.. ah! In the battle, the enemy will be throwing darts at you. Praise is your way of throwing darts back into the enemy’s camp. In 2 Chronicles 20 what do we see, the enemy’s camp being confused. There were various armies coming after the Israelites but after the Israelites began to sing and praise God, their enemies began to fight each other – That doesn’t even make sense! Can you imagine how collectively and strategically they could have teamed up and fought the Israelites together but in the midst of confusion, they began to kill each other. That is the power that you have at your disposal! That is the weapon that you already possess. The power to praise God and confound the enemy and his agents through speaking hope and light into the darkest situations.
In the Hebrew there are various words used for Praise one of which is Yadah.
It is no coincidence that the same word can be used for “to shoot down, to cast down”. These terms are war terms and this word highlights the battle aspect of praise. You can’t forget that you don’t fight against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). In the kingdom of darkness, there are ranks, different responsibilities authorities and order. The enemy hates you by nature and he will instruct, delegate and direct his agents against you through various means. However praise is your way of fighting back and declaring that God is your high tower. There is power in sound. Sound has the power to move the air and your praise has the power to move the prince of the air. The enemy loves to cause confusion and we see in Nehemiah 4:8 how the enemy tried to create confusion for Nehemiah. In the kingdom, it is either fight or be defeated. Instead of allowing the enemy to create confusion for you, praise and create confusion for him. Fight, rise up. Don’t allow the enemy to steal your praise nor your joy. You are a mighty warrior and you belong to a MIGHTY God.
Praise enthrones God
The bible says in Psalm 22:3 that God inhabits the praises of His people. Some versions replace the word with inhabit with enthroned. What does this mean? God reigns yes however praise causes the fullness of who God is in the heavens to be manifested on the earth. I remember whilst I was once praising God and I had a vision of a throne in the sky with a dark figure seated on it. To me, this represented a demon having some level of authority that it no longer has the right to have according to the finished works of Christ. Remember Ephesians 6:12 stated that we fight against spiritual powers in high places and high places signify the level of authority these powers often have. As I continued to praise God, I saw this throne tip and this caused this dark figure to fall off its throne. This is the power of our praise! It causes the enemy to be thrown down and enthrones God over our situations.
Praise causes angels to heed to God’s Word and fight on your behalf
In your battle and in life in general, you need angels. Hebrews 1:14 states “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Psalm 103:20 states “Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word.” Angels heed to the voice of His Word and when we as children of God praise God according to His Word, angels will heed to that. I believe that is one of the reasons why in Matthew 4:11 after Jesus had finished declaring the Word of God whilst being tempted by Satan, the angels came to minister to Him. They are drawn to the voice of His word. So to apply this to you, whatever battle you are going through as you begin to praise God for who He is, as you praise God according to His great deeds and attributes recorded in the Bible and beyond, angels will harken to His voice and fight on your behalf.
However, angels can also be detained from ministering to the children of God on earth because of demons. We see this in Daniel 13 with Daniel. This is a real war that we’re fighting and angels can be released due to our praise on day number 1 but we must continuously praise God and continuously actualise the power that praise has. When you refrain from praising God, angels can 1) be refrained from being released or 2) be released but not be able to do the fullness of what was intended. It is that real.
Honestly when everything is looking crazy the enemy wants to steal your praise but you must praise until your mind is shifted into faith and God’s perspective. There is a power in saying “Hallelujah, you have won the victory” when nothing in your life looks victorious. When your life is falling apart and so is your soul there is a power in singing “it is well, it is well with my soul”. Your hallelujah, your shouts of praise are darts in the camp of the enemy. Spears are sent out with your hallelujah, angels receive strength through your hallelujah. The Lord is enthroned through your hallelujah!
Don’t wait for the manifestation of what you seek God for until you praise. Praise NOW. In the present because there are things to praise Him for now and it’s in recognising these things that will cause your list of reasons to praise Him to grow. When thrown into battles you might receive blows that were honestly sent to kill you, in that moment of pain, go back to some of your favourite worship songs and praise Him. Remember God’s faithfulness in the past and praise Him. Your praise is one of your greatest weapons which will keep your mind in peace, cause God to BOAST and the hosts of heaven to fight on your behalf.
In conclusion I want to end with something God said to me on this matter “Praise my name, worship me in the beauty of my holiness. Loose your gaze concerning your circumstances and cast your gaze on me. What you stare at and behold, you worship and what you worship will be amplified in your life. Guard your eye gate and guard your tongue and praise with everything that is in You. Bless the Lord with all your soul and all that is within you… Praise!”
God bless you all xx
