Mensa Otabil - Prevailing Through Praise
- Watch
- Donate
Welcome to day number 16 of our 40 days of power. We’re still trusting God and waiting on Him, looking up to Him. This week, we’ve been focusing on taking authority, and this is our final segment on this theme. We’ve prayed throughout the week around the same topic of taking authority. Starting tomorrow, we will have another theme, so let’s look at one last scripture that references taking authority: 2 Chronicles 20:21–22.
«When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went before the army, saying, 'Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.' 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.
What a battle strategy! One of the ways to take authority as Christians is to praise the Lord. Praise and worship are part of our spiritual weapons; I would call it a secret spiritual weapon. I refer to it as a secret spiritual weapon because it’s not always seen, and people don’t value it much. However, King Jehoshaphat valued it. He faced an army composed of three different nations united against Judah. King Jehoshaphat was perplexed; he had no clue how to fight this battle. He received a word from the Lord that God was going to fight for him.
He consulted his leaders and determined that if God was fighting for them and was on their side, the logical course of action was to put the praise and worship people in front. They placed the worshipers, the priests who were singing, at the forefront. The Bible says they praised the beauty of holiness, proclaiming that He is good and His mercies endure forever. I would have loved to see the sight of an army behind worshipers, with worshipers leading the charge into battle. If you were with Jehoshaphat at that time, you might have thought this was the wrong battle strategy. You may have questioned why he wouldn’t build his army to confront the enemy. But had Jehoshaphat approached the enemy with the same weapons as the enemy, he would have faced miserable failure. Instead, he confronted the enemy with superior weapons. Yes, they had an army behind them, but in front were the worshipers.
This means that whenever we go into battle, we must have an army behind us, but what we lead with is the name of the Lord and the praise of the Lord. Prepare, plan, and do all you need to fight your battle, but put God first. Put His worship first; put His name first, and that is how they took authority, and those enemy armies were overcome. Many times, you know, people go to church and don’t take the time to worship God, even during praise and worship. People don’t sing; people don’t worship.
Today, as you go to church, worship God as if your life depends on it-and it truly does. The battle of next week is being led with praise and worship. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; praise His name. Honor His name during the praise and worship. Let your heart burst forth with praise and watch what God is going to do for you in this coming week. Let praise lead, and let the army follow.
Let us pray. Say with me, „Heavenly Father, I praise You because You are good, and Your mercies endure forever. In Jesus' name, amen.“ Well, lead with praise. Lead with worship. Trust the Lord, look upon Him, believe Him, declare His praise, declare His majesty, and watch what the Lord is going to do for you in this coming week. I sense victory upon victory coming your way.
I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.