Before going into battle, why did God always precede with worship? I must admit praising God doesn’t sound like much of a battle plan. But this theme of going into battle while first praising Him is repeated throughout Scripture.
At the walls of Jericho, Joshua and his army were commanded to march around the city six days and on the seventh day to blow their trumpets and shout loudly. It sounds crazy, but it worked. Why is that?
What is so powerful about praise? What can we learn from this Principle of Praise that we can apply to our lives today?
First, praising God for WHAT HE HAS DONE, builds our confidence. We remember how He came through for us in the past and it strengthens our confidence to believe He will do the same for us in our present situation.
Second, praising God for WHO HE IS, reminds us of His character. God is loving. God is faithful. God is patient. God is powerful. God is slow to anger, but quick to forgive. As you reflect on who God is, you are reminded of His great love for you and His ability to care for you.
Third, praising God for WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO, gives us hope for the future. We can count on God to follow through on His promises. We know that God has a good plan and purpose for our lives. (see Jeremiah 29:11) His promises give us hope that tomorrow will be better than today. We do not have to live in fear of our future.
As I reflected on my own life, I wrote down several things that I’ve learned when I put into practice the habit of worshiping God first.
- Worship shifts our focus onto God and off of our problem or obstacle.
- Worship is encouraging. We cannot think or speak a positive and negative thought at the same time. So if we are speaking positively, we cannot be thinking negatively at the same time. It simply doesn’t work.
- Worship builds our confidence. The more we worship the stronger and more confident we become.
- Worship restores our hope. Fear is replaced with hope. We become expectant for greater things in our future.
- Worship establishes discipline in our lives. We learn to rejoice in God despite our circumstances. Our perspective is determined and established by God’s Truth, His promises in His Word, and not on how we are feeling at that moment.
- Worship is vocal. It requires us to speak. We know from Scripture that there is power in God’s spoken word. Positive words bring positive results.
God’s purpose in worship is to build our faith.
Once we are confident, encouraged, hopeful, focused, proclaiming God’s Word, expecting positive change (all affects of our worship), the end result is our strengthened faith.
And we know from Scripture that faith “as small as a mustard seed” can move mountains. (see Matthew 17:20-21)
Faith is God’s secret weapon. We get faith by “hearing God’s Word” spoken out of our mouths in worship to God. (see Romans 10:17)
God’s strategy for overcoming obstacles and maintaining victory in our lives is the practice or discipline of worship. I call it the Principle of Praise. Worship re-directs our focus onto God. Worship builds our faith to believe that “with God all things are possible.” (see Philippians 4:13) Once our faith is strengthened, we have God’s power WITHIN US to overcome evil and bring about positive change in our lives.
Want to be an overcomer? Start with praise!
