July 27 - Praise as Warfare Weapon

A great multitude of Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites was coming against Jehoshaphat for battle from the direction of Edom and beyond the Sea. The situation was dire and there seemed to be no help at hand. Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah and sought help from the Lord. An assembly was gathered in the house of the Lord where the king led in prayer, reminding the Lord of His promises to protect and realizing that they were powerless against such great horde of enemies.

When danger comes and you know that you cannot overcome it, you would be afraid like the king of Judah. However, when he sought the Lord together with his people, God sent His Word through a prophet Jahaziel, giving directions to the king as what to do. The first thing to do was what not to do, i.e. not to be afraid or dismayed. They needed to gather all their strength towards the enemy. The next thing they needed to realize was that the Lord had already owned the battle, and so they did not have to fight it. Thirdly, they were to go down against the enemy at a certain place. All they needed to do was to stand firm, hold their position and see the salvation of the Lord.

This was exactly what the Israelites did by the Red Sea when Pharaoh’s armies were in hot pursuit. They were to stand there to see the salvation of the Lord on their behalf. The assurance was that the Lord would be with them. The king and the people responded to the message with awe, they all fell down and worshiped the Lord. They praised the Lord with a very loud voice.

Before they set out on the next day, the king encouraged them to believe in God’s prophets and success would be theirs. Then he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise Him in holy attire to go before the army. Such strategy was unheard of. But when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against their enemies and routed them. It took three days to collect the spoil and on the fourth day, the people gathered again to bless the Lord at the Valley of Beracah before returning to Jerusalem with great joy.

This victory began with prayer and fasting, followed by the revelation of God’s battle strategy. Then the singing and praising people went before the army, and the Lord defeated the enemy without any human effort. The result was more praising, gathering of spoils and rejoicing. Such an insurmountable problem was solved merely by praising the Lord for God dwelt among the praises of His people. When God was with them, the battle was already won. Are you facing any difficulties or problems you cannot solve? Praise Him now and see His salvation.