Praise going into battle

Praise Is Powerful!

by Sherry Jones

Praise is necessary for the believer. Praise invokes the Lord’s presence. Our lives are to be full

of praise and thanksgiving. In Psalms 113:1-3 it says, “Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants

of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth

and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name

is to be praised.”

We have enemies that come against our minds, our bodies, our families and our future. But God

inhabits our praises. Psalms 22:3. When we begin to praise God, the enemy is stopped, we are

strengthened, and our faith is released. This is what Jehoshaphat experienced in the Old

Testament when he was surrounded by three armies. The Lord told him to send out praisers

before the army and they were to say, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever.” When

they began to do this, the Lord set ambushments against the three armies and the armies were

destroyed. 2 Chronicles 20:22. So when they began to sing and praise God, something began to

happen.

It’s not enough to have praise in our heart; it’s got to come out of our mouth. The same thing

happened in the New Testament when Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises in prison. The

scripture says, “And 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 bands were loosed.”

Acts 16:26. There is no door that God cannot open when we praise him! Praise will release the

miracle we need.

Paul and Silas would not have gotten their miracle if they had just prayed. The devil will try to

keep us ignorant of this vital truth. Satan will set us in churches where we don’t praise him.

But God is pleased with our praise. David said that he praised the Lord seven times a day.

Psalms 119: 164. Then in Psalms 71:14 David said, “I…will yet praise thee more and more.”

And in Psalms 34:1 David said, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” David moved

into extreme praise.

So the next time you see someone praising God, instead of asking, “Why are they shouting, why

are they singing, why are they laughing, or why are they running?” just remember that is the

wrong question! The correct question is, “Why am I not running, why am I not shouting, why

am I not singing, why am I not laughing?” because according to Hebrews 13:15, we are to offer