Mensa Otabil - Singing Into Battle (10/06/2025)
We’ve been talking about singing. This week, we’ve discussed singing a new song, singing God’s word, singing about God’s work, and singing and shouting. Today, we’re looking at singing into battle. When faced with opponents and difficult situations, you can go into warfare with singing. Our story is from II Chronicles, chapter 20, verse 21: «And 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 and were saying, 'Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.'»
This story is about King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, going into battle. In this battle, he is faced with three armies: the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Seir. They have come against Judah, and these armies far outnumbered the armies of Judah. King Jehoshaphat, perplexed by the situation he faced, called the nation to prayer. They entered into prayer and began to seek the face of the Lord. After they had prayed, the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the Levites, who gave a prophecy to Judah, telling them that the Lord said, «This is My battle. I’m going to fight it; I will take care of business for you.» The people were encouraged by that prophetic word because, although the armies were much larger, they knew that if God was going to get involved, they would win.
In response to this assurance from the Lord, King Jehoshaphat took initiative. When the army was ready, he went to the Levites, looked for the singers among them, appointed them, and told them to go out in front of the army and sing. That’s quite an interesting battle strategy-with an army and singers in front. If you observe the words of the song, they are very familiar to us; we sing those words in hymns and choruses: «Praise the Lord, His mercies endure forever.» Sometimes we sing it because He is good, and His mercies endure forever; that’s what they were doing.
Take note of what they were doing in their singing; they were not singing about how tough the battle was or how difficult the enemy was. They were not singing about their weaknesses; they were singing about the beauty of God’s holiness. They were focusing on God, not merely the battle. Many times, when faced with challenges, we sing songs that amplify our problems. However, here their song proclaimed, «The Lord, His mercies endure forever,» and throughout the passages, they praised the beauty of God’s holiness. The songs we sing when confronted with difficulties will determine the outcome of our battles.
Of course, they had prayed, but when the time for battle comes, it is through praise, worship, and thanking the Lord that we prevail. It is lifting up holy hands to the Lord and praising Him in the beauty of holiness. There is much we can learn from King Jehoshaphat about our lives, our battles, and our difficulties. Sometimes, we pray so intensely that our prayer shifts from faith to anxiety and worry. The intensity can become an expression of anxiety rather than faith. But that is not what they did here. They prayed, heard the word of the Lord, and praised Him.
So today, let’s learn from him. As you go out today and throughout the rest of your life, remember God is with you in this battle. Go ahead, worship Him, praise Him, sing the beauty of holiness, exalt His holy name, magnify Him amid all your challenges. Let the name of the Lord be magnified and see what He will do for you in that situation.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I sing in praise of the beauty of Your holiness. You are good, and Your mercies endure forever. In Jesus' name, amen.» That’s how you’ll win this battle-with the praise of the Lord on your lips. God will give you the victory, and tomorrow, we will look at how this battle turned out. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.