Winning With Praise

I am praising God for all of the amazing people that I have in my life right now and for all of you who reached out after our last post and asked for prayer. I have been lifting up your requests every day or simply praying blessings over those who have sent messages of encouragement or asked for general prayer. Some of you have even asked for advice on how to share God with your children, expressing a desire for them to know more than you did yourself when you were their ages. I think that is fantastic, and that is God speaking to you and giving you that desire! The Lord is definitely moving in our midst. :) Please know that I am easily reached through Facebook messenger, or if we are not friends on Facebook, you can always send your prayer requests or questions to: adrien.feldt@gmail.com. Let me know how I can lift you up! 

God is so good and that is exactly what we are talking about today! 

God deserves our praise all of the time. We enthusiastically praise when we see miracles happen or when life is wonderful, but we should be praising even when things are quiet, even when we are discouraged, even when we don’t feel like it. Praising our God makes things happen! If you have been feeling stuck or under attack by the enemy with negative thoughts and discouragement, there is no better counterattack than praising God. You can literally praise your way to victory!  

Remember that one of the enemy’s favorite schemes against us is discouragement through self-pity. Through the power of praise the focus is taken completely off of us and put solely on the Lord. Even in our prayers we may have a tendency to begin venting and focusing only on the negative. There is no room for negativity in praise. It is a complete redirection in our mindset and our attitude.  When we praise God we are showing him that we truly believe that he is in control of our situation. We don’t have to focus on the negative, because our minds are set on the promises ahead. There is no better display of faith!

Praise is also a humbling experience. Sometimes through hard seasons it feels like all we do is humble ourselves! Good. A place of humility is exactly where God wants us to be. We cannot learn without it. It keeps us from self-righteousness. It shows that we recognize that God is in control. Even though we are personally powerless, we posses great power because Jesus is our substitute, and our substitute has already won for us! 

One of the most encouraging examples of winning with praise can be found in the story of King Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah, and scripture tells us “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 17:3-4 

In 2 Chronicles 20, we learn an alliance of nations decided to march against Judah. Jehoshaphat was scared. He called for a fast throughout all of Judah and purposed to give this entire situation to the Lord. He began a very heartfelt prayer admitting to God that they were powerless before their foes, but they were going to keep their eyes on the one who had delivered their people so many times before. Jehoshaphat was not alone in his prayers! All of Judah joined in. “Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” 2 Chronicles 20:13. God promised that he was going to win this battle for the people. “Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.” 2 Chronicles 20:18-19

There was a lot of prayer and praising going on, and it was loud and proud! These people were suiting up in their spiritual armor, just as we are called to do when we face trials of many kinds. But this wasn’t the end of their praise. Wait until you hear what they did next!

“And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 2 Chronicles 20:20-21

Jehoshaphat appointed people to go out before the army singing praises. The praise team was on the front lines! Spiritual weapons are much more effective than physical ones. Do you doubt that praising has power? 

“And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped destroy one another.” 2 Chronicles 20:22-23

God caused all of the enemies of Judah to turn against one another! When Judah finally came to the watchtower to see what had happened, they looked out and saw dead bodies lying everywhere. No one had survived.

“When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.” 2 Chronicles 20:25

Wow! Behold the power of praising and trusting in God! Not only did God come through in a big way for Judah, they were given immeasurably more for their faithfulness. These were a praising people, and God blessed them immensely. Jehoshaphat was admittedly terrified by his circumstances, but he gave it to God and poured out praises instead of wallowing in despair.  His is the ultimate example in how to handle our own distressing situations. When all seems lost – praise!

Jehoshaphat wasn’t the only one who experienced a miracle in the midst of praise. Our familiar friend Paul and his companion Silas found themselves chained up in prison one night after being disrobed and beaten. Instead of fretting or complaining, they decided to sing praises to God.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 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 bonds were unfastened.” Acts 16:25-26

Instead of making a run for it and potentially costing the life of the jailor who was supposed to be watching over them, all of the prisoners stayed right where they were. Because of this miraculous event, the jailor ended up giving his life to God, Paul and Silas were rightfully set free, and they were even apologized to for the trouble they had been put through. Paul and Silas praised even the midst of great trial and as a result souls came to know the Lord and they were eventually vindicated for their troubles. If the same God who heard the praises of Paul and Silas is the same God you worship today, can he not do the same things for you? He will win for you and bring you justice. Praise the name of Jesus! He has the power to break every chain and overcome even the most dire of circumstances.  

I know that it’s not easy to die to yourself and offer up praise when you are heartbroken or discouraged. During no other time of your life may you truly feel the phrase “the sacrifice of praise” so greatly.  But when you decide to fight through the pain and acknowledge that God is always worthy of praise, you will take power back from the enemy. The natural byproduct of praise is that we are drawn closer to God. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and praise his holy name miracles can happen! Battles are won, captives are set free, and God gets the glory he so richly deserves.

Imagine how confused those minions whispering discouragement in your ears will be when instead of crying, looking downtrodden, complaining, or wallowing in despair you begin singing or speaking praises with a smile on your face! Imagine how upset they will be when they realize you have figured out how to overcome them with the only thing that works - spiritual weapons. If you are a child of God, you have the power to defeat your spiritual antagonists and all of their tricks and schemes. We're going to talk even more about that on Thursday, so I hope you'll check back in with us then!

Be bold and brave, honor the Lord, and tap into the POWER of praise today! Love!