God has taught me that praise can be used as a powerful weapon against the enemy. I have personally experienced this many times in my journey with God and seen the victory that comes by fighting the enemy using praise. Having said that, I believe that praise should be part of our everyday lives as believers in Jesus, because we love Him, and as we praise Him, we enthrone Him as our King (Psalm 22:3).

I would like to show you examples from the Old Testament of how God’s people experienced victory over their enemies when praising the Lord. I would also like to share with you my personal testimony of how praise gave me victory over my enemies.

Praising God by Singing to Him

This first example from Scripture we will look at is from 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. We will be looking at this Scripture from 2 different angles:

1. Understanding how King Jehoshaphat and Judah saw victory when they praised God as He had instructed them to.
2. Understanding the allegory of this Scripture (the hidden spiritual meaning for us). This will be covered in a follow-up blog post.

1. Let’s begin with the first point:

In this story, King Jehoshaphat is warned that the people of Moab, the people of Ammon and the others with them were coming against him in battle. I believe that Jehoshaphat acted in wisdom as he immediately went to the Lord to ask for help.

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:3-4 NKJV

The next wise decision that Jehoshaphat made was to proclaim his faith in God, based upon his knowledge and trust in God. What I also love about this story, is that Jehoshaphat remembered what God had previously done for the people of Israel. He knew that God would deliver them now from their enemies, because he relied on God’s faithfulness in the past.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us – sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine – we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’

2 Chronicles 20:5-9 NKJV

I believe this is a very good lesson for all of us. As we face mountains and spiritual battles, we should remember what God has done for us in the past, knowing that He will help us again because He is always faithful. I believe it moves God’s heart when He hears His people declare their faith and trust in Him alone. Like in this story, Jehoshaphat declared that they had no power against the enemy that was coming against them, but that the LORD was their only hope of being saved.

“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

2 Chronicles 20:12 NKJV

The Scripture then goes on to say that the Holy Spirit came upon Jahaziel, and he spoke to the people giving them instructions from the Lord.

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘ Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’

2 Chronicles 20:15 NKJV

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

2 Chronicles 20:17 NKJV

The Scriptures then go on to tell us that Jehoshaphat, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed their heads with their faces to the ground in worship. They also stood up and praised the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. They also rose early in the morning and prepared for the battle where they saw the salvation of the Lord.

And when he (Jehoshaphat) 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 out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” Now 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. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

2 Chronicles 20:21-23 NKJV

From this story, we can see that praise is a powerful weapon which can be used against the enemy. Even though they were instructed not to fight in the battle, they were still instructed to go out against the army. Praising the Lord also takes our attention away from the battle and helps us to focus on the Lord. The people of Judah and Jerusalem made the decision to sing praises the Lord in the midst of their enemies, obey the Lord’s instructions, and God did the rest. He turned their enemies against one other so that they destroyed each other.

With each and every battle, it is extremely important to be led by the Holy Spirit. God knows every battle we will face, and when we are obedient to the instructions from the Holy Spirit, we will experience victory over our enemies. It is also very important for us to learn to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, become sensitive to His leading, and follow Him in obedience. Our loving Father is patient and kind towards us while we are still learning, so let this understanding comfort and encourage us. We may make mistakes along the way, but that’s how we learn.

I would like to share with you my personal testimony of how God saved my life and healed me from a specific spiritual attack. The enemy came back later with the same attack, but the second time God’s battle strategy for me was different. He forewarned me of the upcoming battle and gave me specific instructions of how I should fight the enemy with praise, and in doing so He faithfully brought me into victory. Thank You Jesus.

One night in February 2020, I woke up with an excruciating pain in the right side of my chest and in my stomach. I didn’t know what caused the pain, as I had never experienced that kind of pain before. I also had trouble breathing properly. I asked God what was going on, and He told me at 3 different times that it was a spiritual attack. I also asked the Lord what I should do, and I believe He advised me to go to the hospital, but I was not certain about this.

By lunch time the next day I was still in a lot of pain, so I asked my husband to take me to the hospital. They discovered that I had a pulmonary embolism, and immediately booked me into ICU where I spent the next 13 days. It was a challenging time for me, because the doctors told me that they couldn’t guarantee my survival, but that they would try their best. Our lives however are always in the hands of God, and He knows our appointed times. Our lives are in His mighty hands, no matter what the enemy tries to do to us.

Also, even though I was in a very good hospital under the care of good doctors and nurses, I have to give glory where the glory is due. I know that it was God who healed me. One day after visiting hours, I was lying in the hospital bed, and I felt a hand holding my right hand. I couldn’t see anyone there holding my hand, but I just knew that it was Jesus. I know in this moment He healed me, because after that things turned around for me. As further evidence that I know it was God alone who healed me, I was also completely healed from female medical issues which I was experiencing at that time. During my hospital stay I was not treated for these at all, and I never experienced these problems again after that encounter with the Lord. Thank You Jesus! I will always be so grateful to Him, because I know with all my heart that it was Jesus who healed me and saved my life in the hospital. I am also not taking any blood thinning medication, because the Lord told me that the blood clot was a spiritual attack.

Then around June 2022, while I was in my bed one night, and I felt the exact same pain that I felt when the enemy had attacked me with the pulmonary embolism the first time. I knew it was the same attack, because not only was the pain exactly the same, but I was also struggling to take deep breaths just like with the first attack. My initial thought was, “There is no way I am going back to the hospital,” and I really meant it. As I was about to ask the Lord for His advice, I remembered that the entire day He had sent me signs showing ‘praise’. I immediately understood why He had sent me these signs. The Lord had gone before me by warning me that an attack was coming, but He had also secured my victory through praise (Just like with the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20). So that’s exactly what I did. I put on my praise music, and I sang to the Lord for about an hour, at which time I felt complete relief from the attack. Thank You my Beloved Jesus!

The Scriptures actually tell us that we can triumph over the enemy when we praise God. The word “triumph” means to gain a great victory or achievement.

To give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.

Psalm 106:47 NKJV