The Weapon of Praise

2 Chronicles 20 : 14 - 17, Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 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." NKJV

God has given His children the garments of praise so that we can overcome the spirit of heaviness. In the 2 Chronicles story today, we read that God instructed King Jehoshaphat to send people out in front of the warriors for the purpose of praising God. In the natural, this seems like a good recipe for disaster. However, in the spirit, it was instruction for victory without a fight.

Likewise, in church, we place much emphasis on praising the Lord. However, have we ever considered that praise is also prophetic? It is prophetic because we praise God for the victory before it is won. Let's take the example given in today's word about the King and the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. Can you imagine how strange it must have seemed to the king to send unarmed people to sing in front of the army that was to do battle? You might say that this took a great deal of faith in God. Isn't that exactly what praise is all about? We're not just singing our praises to God for what He has done on our behalf, we are also declaring victory over the battles that we haven't even encountered. We can do this because we know that the Lord is with us; He is fighting for us to ensure the victory that is needed for us to defeat our adversary, the Devil.

One of the hardest acts of faith as a believer is to praise God during a time of battle. As a pastor, I have seen in my own life how much of a struggle it has been at times to be engaged in a spiritual battle, knowing that I needed to praise God despite how things appeared in the natural. Nevertheless, I lifted my hands and praised the Lord for His goodness in my life. It's hard to praise God during conflicts and seasons of unrest because we are focused on the battle and not on the Lord. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to lay aside everything that may prevent us from running a successful race of faith. He also instructs us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we run. 

When we choose to focus on the Lord instead of looking at any impending danger, we are exercising our faith in God's faithfulness and goodness. When we praise Him, we are declaring prophetically that our God reigns over this battle and its outcome. This will invite God's presence into our conflicts enabling Him to destroy the works of the enemy and bring peace into the situation.

Let me challenge you today. If you're feeling weighted down by heavy burdens, or you're worried about a circumstance that is currently in your life, begin to praise the Lord and invite Him to fight your battles. At first, you may not "feel" anything. Nevertheless, as you lose yourself in God's presence, you will begin to sense God's Spirit stirring in your heart and empowering your praise to bring victory your way.

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery