Psalm 8:2 – Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. NIV
I’ve been blogging about weapons that are effective in stopping the enemy! I have blogged about the weapon of our salvation, the weapon of the Blood of Jesus, and the weapon of holiness. In this blog, I want to talk about the weapon of praise!
The psalmist, David, stated that praise establishes a stronghold (a tower) against our enemies. Can you imagine yourself building a tower, with your praise, that the enemy cannot get over? Hopefully, when you finish reading this blog, you will do just that! In the KJV of the Bible the translators used the word “strength” and not “praise” in this verse. However, to be clear that the psalmist is referring to praise, in this verse, let’s look at how Jesus quoted it in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 21:16 – “And (the Pharisees)said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” NKJV
When I think of both of these words, (praise and strength) it causes me to draw the conclusion that our strength against the enemy lies in our praise! Get this picture in your mind: The enemy is on the attack, in some form or fashion, then you begin to praise God, and you start constructing a tower with your praise! The longer you praise, the higher the tower, the higher the tower, the harder it is for the enemy to access you! I like that picture!!
The word praise is sometimes translated as “boast” meaning to boast in the Lord and what He has done, and to boast in who He is! Praise can be carried out in a number of ways:
- We can praise Him in the dance!
- We call praise Him with song!
- We can just walk around and praise Him for who He is
- We can sit and praise Him for what He has done in our lives
- We can bow before Him and give Him praise just because we feel like it
- We can praise Him at church or at home
- We can praise Him with or without music
- We can praise Him in the Spirit
Choose one! Better yet, try them all! The next time the enemy goes on a rampage, praise God like never before!
The Old Testament reference that comes to mind involves Jehoshaphat! There was an army of people who came up against the king and the people of Judah. When the king heard, he called a fast and prayed. The Lord gave the king a promise, a prophetic word, that he would not have to fight in the battle, and Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, gave Him praise. The next morning, when they got up, Jehoshaphat called for another time of praise. Here’s what verse 22 states: “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated!” Now how powerful of an example is that? Yes, they had fasted and prayed, and that caused them to hear from God! But when they began to praise Him, God defeated their enemies!
Now, if you have been following me, you know I have to give you at least one more scriptural proof of praise silencing the enemy!
The verse that keeps resonating in my heart and spirit is found in Isaiah 61. Although these are the words that Jesus said He fulfilled in Luke 4, there is a part that illustrates the victory through praise. Isaiah wrote, “put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness”. What is the spirit of heaviness but an oppressive spirit from the devil? Isaiah said, when it comes, clothe yourself in praise! Get up from your place of “woe is me” and get in a position of “Lord, You are good! You’ve been better than good!” Hallelujah!
Everyone may not be able to “apply the Blood of Jesus” in faith as soon as you learn about it, but you can start praising Him right now and be extremely effective against the attacks of your enemy!
In Psalm 30:12, the psalmist wrote, “You have turned for me mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent. O lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” What was David mourning over? Why was he in sackcloth? Who knows? Much had happened in his life before this point. It could have simply been that God had denied him the honor of building His temple because he had so much blood on his hands. Yet, when David was dedicating his home to the Lord, he began to give God praise and said, “you have turned my mourning into dancing”.
My sister died many years ago. I hadn’t seen her in decades. One day I was just talking to the Lord when I said, “Father, I don’t want the next time I see Jeannie to be at her funeral.” That’s it! That’s all I said. Not long after that, Jeannie contacted me, came and spent a couple weeks with my family and I, and went back to California. She died shortly after. As I was beginning to allow grief to set in, God reminded me of what He had just done for me. I want you to know, I had such a spirit of praise in my heart at the funeral, it was almost embarrassing. However, I shared with my family that day about why my heart was not heavy, and I had to leave it there! He turned my mourning into dancing!
I can give you example after example of the power of praise over the enemy. When we are praising God, the enemy runs away, because he can’t stand to be in a place where praise to God is going on. Also, when you praise God, you don’t have time to think about what the enemy is saying and doing, thereby, silencing him! And don’t forget that tower that is built when you give God praise! It’s blocks the enemy’s access to you!
Let’s say that you are not in a place to even give Him praise right now. It happens! At this time, you just put on some praise music, and just be in the atmosphere of praise. It worked for Saul. When the evil spirit came upon him, David was called in to play some music for him. It was probably one of David’s psalms that he played for Saul, because the enemy left. He didn’t want to hear it. Not even in instrumental form!
David wrote, “Let the poor and needy praise your name,” in Psalm 74. There is no state, no condition, in which we cannot give God praise. The best praise will come from your lips. Sometimes, it will have to be a sacrifice of praise more than a praise party. However it starts out, know that your praise is a powerful weapon against the enemy! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 