Our praise always brings victory!
2 Chronicles 20:21 (KJV)
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
In 20:21 the king gets the choir together and has them sing before the Lord. He wants them to sing thanksgiving to God. He wants them to sing: the Lord is everlasting love. However, the choir should’ve been very afraid, because he wanted the choir to go before the army and sing is unrealistic. Now, if I was in the army, in the infantry, I would not want to be the first woman to do battle with the opposing team. I’m sure most of you would not volunteer either. We all know, that the first infantry is most likely not going to return home, but the king wants to send his choir before the army. So, the army wakes up the next morning and I met him in the wilderness! The king announces, “trust the Lord.” Therefore, the king had them sing praises to the Lord first. Then, God’s presence fell and they were victorious.
God chooses to react in ways that He receives the glory. The ways that may seam stupid to men. God chose to use the word and their praises to confuse the army. I’m glad that His thoughts are always higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9) His ways are always merciful and just. When problems in my life arise, I could handle them my way, but that over time has proven to be ineffective. Sometimes, doing things our own way gets us into even more trouble. So, why not let the God, the one who knows the beginning to the end, deal with our problems?
Below, record a time that the Lord’s ways confounded your mind, but he worked out a situation that benefited you best.
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This old testament story is important in my life, because it tells me that I am to put the choir first. We are to put the praise of our king and savior, on our lips, before everything else. We are to sing His praises and glory to His name before everything else. We are to do this, because this keeps us focused on him and it grows our faith; plus, it gives God the glory and drawls all mankind to Him.
As we sing songs together, we are promised that the Word of Christ will dwell in us richly. In the hearts of Christians we should crave a rich relationship with Christ. Colossians 3:16, clearly a lines singing just as important as the gift of preaching. Furthermore, singing is one of the two greatest ways that God has ordained for His Word to dwell RICHLY in each one of us!
As we witness, here in scripture, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs helps us glorify God in a unique way. God ordained singing as a way to bring our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths together; which, brings the Praising Christian focus to concentrate completely on God. We can conclude from the actions of King Josaphat that singing brings victory.
Today, singing together as a church family, give us an opportunity to hear the testimonies of faith around us. For example, when my home church sings I hear their proclamations as the following: “My hope is found,” “Christ Liveth In Me,” “He set me free,” “Blessed Assurance,” and many more. In addition, In Psalm 105:1-2, the Lord is calling the Israelites (and us) to be a light unto the nations. If we desire to be a light unto the world God said, “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all his wondrous works!”
Below, I have included a list of benefits we receive when we praise the Lord. In the space provide record, how you would rank yourself at praising the Lord. Use 1 to mean no praise at all and 10 to mean, “ I’m doing my best.” Then, write a prayer asking God to give you a testimony to pass onto the next generation.
1. Praising God takes our focus off our Earthly Situations!
2. Our praises lead us to Christ.
3. Our praise builds up our faith.
4. Builds intimacy with God.
5. Our praise allows God to prove his sovereignty.
6. God builds intimacy with those that love and praise him.
7. The presence of God is manifested.
8. Our praise is a weapon and brings victory.
9. Knowing that God is our deliver overshadows our despair.
10. Praise redirects our troubles to God and allows our thoughts to focus on heavenly things.
11. Praise can cast out demons.
12. Praise draws all mankind to God.
Some types of praise:
o Prayer
o Songs/Hymns
o Anthems This word implies that testimony is praise.
o Scriptures
o Testimony
o The giving of oneself in worship and adoration. To lift your hands unto the Lord
o To kneel or to bow.
o Giving
o Dance
o Poems
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