Waging War – The Battle Cry of Praise – Video Blog – Part 2

Let’s face it when you’re going through trials, struggling through praise is probably the last thing you “feel” like doing. But this one act of sacrificial submission moves mountains of despair. It weeds out complaining and adverse thoughts because you can’t praise and complain at the same time.

Friends, praising in the midst of your storm doesn’t mean your problems don’t exist or that the situation you find yourself facing is not real because they are. Praising means you are choosing to believe more in your God and His ability than in your problems and your inability.

When we praise, we are declaring for all who see that our God is bigger, that He is faithful, and He is more than able to deliver us.

You see, we were created for praise. Scripture is full of God’s adoration and praise.

The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 19:1
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6
The people whom I formed for Myself will declare my praise. Isaiah 43:21
All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name. Psalms 66:4
…the mountains break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12
…every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, declares praise to the one who sits on the throne. Revelation 5:13 

So, if we are created for praise, it’s no wonder the enemy tries to stop it because he knows just how powerful the tool of worship is. When we choose to turn our problems into praise, God turns our battles into blessings. Praising God during trials has powerful results. Here, we will focus on four, based on 2 Chronicles 20 and Acts 16.

1.  Praise Redirects Our Eyes Onto Our Defender And Draws Us Into His Presence

Waiting on God can be hard and trying. We can feel forgotten, unseen. Perhaps, even unheard. We wrestle with thoughts of worst-case scenarios, what if, and if only. In all of this, what we are focusing on is us and our eyes become filled with the death of our situation. But, when we choose to praise him, we are drawn out of “us” and into His presence.

Psalm 100:4 says, “We enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.”

As we begin to thank and praise Him, we are redirecting our eyes off of our finite perspective and drawn into His throne room of presence. In 2 Chronicles 20, we read about Jehoshaphat who is attempting to defend his land again a vast enemy army. In verse 12, he says, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

• When we face a battle, we must turn our eyes to the one who does know what to do.

Verse 15, “This is what the Lord says to you, Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. So take up your position, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.”

• Although we are a part of the battle, the battle does not belong to us but rather God. He is fighting for us. Remember, we are not fighting for victory but from victory, which leads us to point 2.

2. Praise Precedes The Victory

Verse 21,  Jehoshaphat had prepared his men to move out, “he appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

• Jehoshaphat didn’t send out his best, strongest warriors.  He sent a “praise team” ahead of the battle, which set the stage for those following. Declaring in the spiritual realm what they had yet to see in the physical realm.
• They praised and gave thanks to the Lord before they won the victory.

Verse 22, we see “As they began to sing and praise,” the Lord sent an ambush into the enemy armies, and they turned on each other completely annihilating the each other.

• The forces of evil cannot stand against the praises of God. Our praises send the enemies darts of confusion back across enemy lines completely annihilating him and setting ablaze his plans to destroy us.

3. Praise Unleashes His Divine Power

As with the story of Jehoshaphat, praise is not a response to what our physical eyes see, nor is it a response to our situations. Rather, praise is a response to our King, and this response releases His power into the atmosphere – piercing through the darkness with His light.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had freed a slave girl from an evil spirit, which had allowed her the ability to earn lots of money for her owners. Because of this, they were severely flogged, placed in stocks (chained) and thrown into prison.

• As they sat there in a dirty, stone jail with blood streaming down their backs from open wounds, having done God’s work, wrongly accused, did not receive a trial, severely flogged, chained, and thrown into jail, they had every reason to complain. But as we see in verse 25, they chose a higher route.

“At about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God when suddenly there was such a violent earthquake the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.”

• When we choose to praise Him, a divine exchange takes place. We are exchanging pain, wounds, and bondage for healing, deliverance, and His unspeakable joy. The foundations of hell are shaken, dungeon doors fly open, and strongholds fall powerless.  Not just for ourselves but for those around us, which leads to our next point …

4. Praise Opens The Door For Others To Be Saved

Others are watching your response to life; both believers and non-believers stand as spectators of your life and your response to it.

It doesn’t mention the other prisoner, but we know they were listening (verse 25). What we do know from Scripture (verse 34) is the jailer, and his entire family went from death to life because Paul and Silas chose to praise God in the midst of their painful wounds and their unfair situation.

• The battle you’re facing might not just be about you. Had Paul and Silas not been wrongly accused, this jailer and his family wouldn’t have an encountered Jesus. God has strategically placed people in your sphere to influence for His kingdom.  You are paving the way for others to encounter Jesus.

Now that we understand the life-changing importance of praise, what are ways we can do this?

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 2 Samuel 22:4

Some examples of praise in Scripture are:

declaration of thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15); dancing (Psalm 150:4); singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19-20); clapping (Psalm 47:1); shouting (Psalm 33:3, 95:1-6); lifting hands (Psalm 134:2); musical instruments (Psalm 150); making joyful noise (Psalms 98:4)

Ways that I find helpful are:

1. Create a worship playlist. Most of us have a phone. I’d say it’s easy, and it probably is, but my little girl had to it for me. You can even assign a profile picture (perhaps the one you’re in the storm with). The playlist was big for me.

2. Read through the Psalms; read them out loud. They’re filled with powerful declarations and adorations of our Deliverer.

3. Journal what you’re thankful for in your life. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

Check out the other parts in this series.