I would like to show you from Scripture that praise is a type of strength which the Lord gives us.

The background to this Scripture is that Jesus had just healed the blind and the lame in the temple, and the children were praising Him saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” This made the chief priests and scribes angry and they questioned Jesus, to which His reply was this:

“Yes. Have you never read (in Psalm 8:2), ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

Matthew 21:16 NKJV

If we then look at Psalm 8:2 which is the Scripture Jesus is referring to, this is what it says:

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained (established) strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the avenger.

Psalm 8:2 NKJV

What a wonderful understanding God has given us from these Scriptures. In order to get the full understanding of the message Jesus is conveying here, I believe it would be necessary to combine these two Scriptures. I believe the understanding God has given me is that that while we are still young in our walk with Jesus (spiritual babes), God teaches us to how to praise Him (Matthew 21:16).

If we look at Psalm 8:2, it doesn’t mention the word “praise”. Instead, it says that God has ordained (or established) strength, because of the enemy, that we may silence the avenger. Therefore, my understanding is that when God teaches us to focus our attention on praising Him, this is a type of strength He gives us so that we can silence the voice of the enemy.

I thank God that He taught me how to praise Him a while ago already, so that I could silence the voice of the enemy, therefore I know it works. As soon as the enemy starts to put evil thoughts into my mind, or it seems like my mind starts racing with unwanted thoughts from the enemy, I now recognize it and immediately start praising God using Scripture and it works every time. At first it took a bit longer for the thoughts to stop because I really had to push past the enemy, but now it takes much quicker. Praising God gives us the victory over our enemies. Thank You Jesus!

If this is new to you, may I encourage you to ask God to teach you how to praise Him. Not only does it silence the enemy, but it is a wonderful way for us to continually keep our minds focused on Jesus. We praise Him because He is worthy and exceedingly precious to us. It also brings us into a much closer relationship with Him, which is amazing. If you ask Him with a sincere heart, I know that He will gladly teach you.