This post is not from a devotional, but rather from Merlin Carothers famous book, "Prison to Praise."
Quote:
Wherever I went I now shared what I had dis-
covered about the power of praise. I was begin-
ning to learn that praise was not just a form of
worship or prayer, but also a way of waging spir-
tual warfare. Often when someone began to
praise God for the problems that faced him, he
found that Satan increased his attacks and the
situation appeared to become worse instead of
better. Many who tried the way of praise became
discouraged and were unable to hold on to their
belief that God was in charge.
Others simply didn't understand and refused
to try praising God for unpleasant things. It Just
doesn't make sense," they'd say. "I'm not going to
praise God for something I just don't believe He
has anything to do with. How can God have any-
thing to do with my broken arm or my wrecked
car or my husband's horrible temper? I'd be
foolish to thank Him for something like that."
Of course it doesn't make sense. The question
is, does it work? It didn't make much sense when
Jesus said, "Leap for joy when you are hungry or
poor or persecuted." Yet He very definitely told
us to do just that. In Nehemiah 8:10 I read: "The
joy of the Lord is your strength."
The enemy's arrows just can't penetrate the
joy of someone who is praising the Lord. In II
Chronicles 20 we read how a whole army was de-
feated when the Israelites simply praised the
Lord and believed Him when He said that the
battle wasn't theirs, but His.
The message is just as clear today. The battle
isn't ours; it is God's. While we praise Him, He
sends our enemies scurrying.
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This is very meaningful for me, because the Lord has personally been impressing on me, and many I fellowship with, regarding this passage in 2 Chronicles 20:15 & 17,
"This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s . . . You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf"
Christ finished it! Now all we need to do is to praise Him and have boldness to make that connection with Him and all His amazing power toward us (and in us) is already made available! (a brother this morning said it was like we have been given the battery fully charged, but sometimes the connections get a little dirty and simply need a quick cleaning. To me, this is the same as what the Lord spoke to His disciples in John 13:10, that only their feet need a little washing because of the dust of the earth, not their whole body . . . i.e., just a dirty connection, easily taken care of)