2 Chronicles 20:22-23 (NLT) At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.

When Judah was in danger of imminent attack from three enemy armies that had joined forces to destroy them, King Jehoshaphat responded by getting the people to fast and pray and…sing! Wait, that can’t be right! It should read, “Fast and pray and attack in the Name of the Lord!” But no, he got the people to sing. They sang, “Give thanks to the Lord; His faithful loves endures forever!” They sang it at the top of their lungs and they led the procession not with swords, shields and spears but with a song. At the very moment that the words started to come out of their mouth in praise to God, the Lord sent confusion among the enemies of God and they started fighting each other until they destroyed each other. What a sight that must have been, especially for the armies of Judah who watched the whole thing!

Praise is a weapon of warfare for the sons and daughters of God. Praise is a mighty weapon against the enemy. The Bible makes it clear that there are enemies beyond our physical enemies (Ephesians 6). In other words, physical enemies that come against the children of God are being driven by dark spiritual forces led by Satan Himself. He uses people who do not serve God as pawns and he gets them to do his bidding by powerful suggestions, leading people to think that it was their idea all along. That’s why praise is so important. It accomplishes a few things. First of all, it attracts the manifest presence of God. The Bible tells us that God sits enthroned on the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). Then, it encourages your own heart and gives you boldness. Finally, it disturbs, hinders and confuses the enemy. It’s especially confusing to the enemy when he has you surrounded with seemingly no way out. At that point, what he expects is for you to be paralyzed with fear and begin doubting God. But when you do the opposite and instead of complaining and running the other way, you hold your ground and lift up praise and adoration to the Lord Jesus, it confuses the enemy and he has flee, leaving his plan of destruction in shambles. The Bible says that we must resist the devil and the best way to resist him is to praise the Lord with all of your heart, even when things look hopeless. Judah was in a hopeless situation but God showed up when they dared to not only praise Him, but to lead the battle on the frontlines with praise. Learn the power of praise and you too will confuse the enemy when he comes to attack you with his lies and schemes. You will stand and watch as the Lord will defeat the enemy again and again as you continually lift up a sacrifice of praise.

Pastor Joey