Worshipping Warriors
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalms 34:1 NAS
We can never underestimate the power of praise. So much so, that many of the great victories in our lives depend upon it.
Often times because of the business of life, we can easily forget that you and I are in a spiritual battle. And that the things that we are up against in our personal lives, our family, job or the business of what is called ‘life’ and we are told that things just happen.
As much as that is true, it is also true that there are other factors involved that one must pay attention to. The Bible tells us that our enemies are with: the world, the flesh and the devil. (I John 2:15, Gal 5:17, & John 10:10.) Make no mistake about it. These verses and many others tell us that it’s a war! And given a chance, anyone of these three enemies will fight us every inch of the way and can keep us from pursuing God’s great plan for our lives – whatever that may be. I believe it was Joel Osteen that said: “The enemy doesn’t fight you for where you are. He fights you for where you are going.” This is certainly not a time for us to shrink back but to do our best to move forward in fighting the good fight of faith in every area of our lives. (I Tim 6:12) Jesus has won the battle. (John 19:30) It is finished!
Praise is one of the keys to breaking through the fog and the cloudiness of our daily fight. Praise helps us to maintain a proper focus. We take our eyes off ourselves, off other people, and we place our focus on God. And by doing so, praise invites the Lord into our circumstances like nothing else can. It’s as if, through our praise, God Himself steps onto the scene and begins to take charge. Suddenly our mind is clear. Our confession changes. Joy is expressed and the Presence of God is released. Divine order is being established. Right here, right now.
One of the major themes in the life of David was an emphasis on prayer, praise, worship, and the presence of God. David is known as the Psalmist of Israel. The book of Psalms gives us an account of the things that David went through and how he dealt with them. In the midst of conquering giants, being chased by King Saul, killing Philistines, dealing with personal sin, family problems, overcoming attitudes in his own life, and leading a nation, David knew that praise was his only weapon that insured victory against his enemies.
Whatever battle you might be going through today, become a worshipping warrior and give God praise!
~ Dan Ecker
