The power of praise!

In my first post on Chronicles, I noted how God's glory filled the temple. You may remember the people of Judah were praising the Lord when God's glory came in such a powerful way that the priests were unable to perform their duties. In that case I say, forget about the duties and just join in the praise!

How powerful is praise? Notice in II Chronicles 20 when King Jehoshaphat lead the nation in fasting and inquiring of the Lord about how to deal with enemy nations coming against Judah. Jahaziel got an encouraging word from the Lord for the king:

¹⁷ "...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "


Now noticed this interesting fact. Who ever fought a war this way? [emphasis below is mine]

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

"Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever."

²² As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

So, you want to see the power of God in your life?

Perhaps what it takes is having faith in what He says and praising Him!