P RAISE:

BY F RANK HAMMOND

KINDLE E-ISBN: 978-089228-387-3

Copyright © 2015
Impact Christian Books

IMPACT CHRISTIAN BOOKS, INC.

332 Leffingwell Ave., Suite 101
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(314) 822-3309

www.impactchristianbooks.com

All passages are from the KING JAMES VERSION unless otherwise noted.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION

HATRED FOR GOD’S WEAPONS

THE WEAPON OF PRAISE

STRANGE WEAPONS

PSALM 149 - A PSALM OF PRAISE WARFARE

PRAISE IS AN OVERFLOW OF GRATITUDE

PRAISE IS CATALYST TO THE SPIRIT MOVING

SOMETIMES WE STRUGGLE TO ENTER INTO PRAISE

PRAISE BRINGS TRIUMPH OVER DEMONIC SPIRITS

VARIOUS WAYS TO EXPRESS PRAISE

THE HIGH PRAISES OF GOD

TO PUNISH AND TORMENT DEMONS

PRAISE IS PART OF GOD’S GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY

JEHOSHAPHAT GOES INTO BATTLE WITH PRAISE

PRAISE CAUSES CONFUSION IN THE CAMP OF THE ENEMY

BINDING THE STRONGMAN AND TAKING HIS TREASURES

CONCLUSION
 Introduction

Praise is a weapon of spiritual warfare. As you praise the

Lord, powerful things begin to happen in the heavenly realm.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that:

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but

mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds

God has given us, as believers, spiritual weapons. This

passage reminds us of the weapons, and the power that is in
those weapons.
There are several important things that are said in this verse
about the spiritual weapons that God gives into the hands of
his spiritual army. First of all, he says that the weapons are
non-carnal. That means they are not of the flesh. The reason
we cannot use fleshly weapons in our warfare is because our
enemy is not fleshly; he is a spiritual enemy. So it takes
spiritual weapons to defeat spiritual enemies. No kind of
physical or fleshly weapon is effective in deliverance and
spiritual warfare. You cannot shoot your enemies with a gun,
you cannot cut them with a sword, you cannot drop a bomb on
them. There are other kinds of fleshly weapons that people try
to use against evil spirits, like education. Some people think if
they are smart enough, or educated enough, evil spirits will not
bother them. So, for them, man’s education is a weapon of
warfare. Yet, Paul says here you cannot use fleshly weapons,
but you can use spiritual weapons and these are “mighty
through God.”
The New English Bible says these weapons are “divinely
potent.” I like that.
These weapons seem to be foolish to the carnal mind, but
they are entirely successful! They cannot know failure. The
weapons that God puts in our hands are completely effective
for the warfare that we have before us.
Paul says they are mighty in God through “the pulling
down of strong holds.” Now, when someone has a strong hold,
that means that they have set up a fortress, and they are
established in that place. Paul is saying these weapons can be
used to pull down strong holds or fortresses that the enemy
has set up in our lives and the lives of others.
The devil says to us, “I am entrenched!” So what? The
weapons that we have are effective in precisely this kind of
situation. When the devil has done his best to secure himself
in a position, he is still vulnerable. He is still defeatable.
 Hatred for God’s Weapons
Every one of the weapons that God has given us is hated,
despised and ridiculed.
Take the blood of Jesus for instance; there are a lot of
people who ridicule the blood of Jesus. There have been quite
a few people of “modern theology” who have called the blood
sacrifice of Jesus a slaughterhouse religion. They say it is not
necessary to talk about the blood, and the blood of Jesus is
not important. That is an effort to take this weapon away from
you. Do you see that? A lot of churches don’t sing about the
blood, don’t preach about the blood, don’t testify about the
blood. As a result, they lose their power and influence because
they disregard their spiritual weaponry.
The same thing has been done concerning the name of
Jesus. The name of Jesus is a powerful weapon! The apostles
were forbidden by the magistrates from speaking in the name of
Jesus. Who was behind that effort to take the name of Jesus
out of the witness of the early disciples? The person behind
this also makes Christians today timid and fearful of talking
about their precious Lord Jesus. Who would want to make us
timid? Who would want to make us afraid? Who would want to
take that name out of our mouths? The one who knows the
power that is in that name! Satan, of course.
There are other weapons that God has given to us. The
Word of God is a weapon. The Bible says that it is like a two-
edged sword. We are to take up the sword of the Spirit which is
the word of God. Do you know that the devil would rather have
us quote any other book than the Word of God? You can quote
Shakespeare and Keats all day long and it does not bother him
one bit. When you start quoting the Word of God, he trembles.
He falls into fear.
 The Weapon of Praise

Then there is praise. Praise is a mighty weapon and the

enemy is fearful of it. He detests it because he fears it. And
why does he fear it? Because it is such a powerful weapon
against him.
There are a lot of people who say that they are Christians
but they hate genuine praise. We have had people come into
our church while we were worshiping and do a U-turn and walk
right out. Others have stuck it out, but have been miserable
during the whole time of praise.
Who is it that makes people afraid of genuine praise? Who
is it that makes them uncomfortable? The Word of God says
that we are to praise the Lord! Who is it that tries to keep
mouths shut, tries to keep the voices in a whisper? To be sure,
it’s not the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Praise is a weapon
against the power of the devil and the devil does everything
that he can to stop one from moving into praise.
Some churches fear genuine praise. They are afraid that it
will run off the prospective members. They want to tone down
what God is stirring up! We have decided in our church that we
are not going to adjust to the world or to those who are timid
and afraid, but rather they are going to have to adjust to God’s
Word.
Hallelujah! Don’t ever be afraid of the praise that goes up
from your heart. There may be people who laugh at you or try
to ridicule you. But I say “I am a fool for Jesus, who are you a
fool for?”
 Strange Weapons

Have you ever thought about the strange weapons and

tactics that are deployed in warfare in Scripture? Think about
Samson who used a weapon one day in the form of a jawbone
of an ass. Wth this jawbone he killed 1,000 Philistines! Now
that was a powerful weapon but it certainly was a strange one,
wasn’t it?
Then there was the judge named Shangar. He took an ox
goad, the thing you use to prod the ox to make them go, and
with this strange weapon he slaughtered 600 of the enemy.
And then there was Gideon, the one God called to go
against a mighty host, and God said “You have too many.” God
said to eliminate most of those who had volunteered. The army
was reduced to 300 men, who would come against a mighty
army, a great host. Do you know what the weapons were that
day? A water pitcher with a torch inside of it, and a trumpet!
With those strange tools a vast army was defeated.
There were others who had strange weapons. Think about
David when he was confronted with Goliath. With King Saul
and all of his armor, and all the men who were afraid of Goliath.
Yet David knew the Lord. He took a slingshot and a few
smooth stones and slayed the giant. Praise the Lord! The
power of God’s weaponry is awesome.
When Joshua led the children of Israel against the city of
Jericho, they marched, and at the sound of a signal, they
shouted. They blew a few ram horns. With this, the walls of the
city came down, and a great victory was won by the Lord that
day.
God has chosen throughout his Word to use very strange
weapons and tactics to gain victory. It should not be any
surprise that this is true of some of the weapons He has given
us: the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the word of our
testimony, the Word of God, praise, prayer — all are
unexpected, but powerful, weapons. Just as these strange
weapons God used in the Old Testament were powerful, the
ones that God has given to us today are powerful, and more
so!
 Psalm 149 -
A Psalm of Praise Warfare

This is a Psalm of warfare, and praise is the weaponry that

is employed. This Psalm starts by saying, Praise ye the Lord.
Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the
congregation of saints.

The word “praise” here is one of about six different words

used for praise in the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew word
halel from which we get our English word hallelujah. Literally
interpreted, halel means “to make a show,” as in the opposite
of being pious. That is what God uses for the word for praise:
be halel!
Think about how people act in a football stadium or at a
baseball game. See what kind of celebratory displays are
shown when a team scores or makes an important play. Why
there, and not in the house of God? Let’s get excited about
what our great God has done for us!
We should find something to get excited about in all the
blessings, tremendous salvations, and outpourings of God’s
grace and mercy. We should find something to get excited
about when we think of God’s deliverance and His power over
the enemy.
 Praise is an Overflow of
Gratitude Praise is the overflow
of our heart in gratitude for
God’s goodness to us. If you are
happy about what God has done
for you, you will not sit in your
chair like a bump on a log. If you
truly are grateful for what God
has done in your life, and you
appreciate it and are thankful
for it, then there is a well that
starts flowing out of you,
bubbling up inside of you, and
 it’s going to overflow in praise.
Also in the first verse he says: …sing to the Lord…
There is a time to sing about the Lord, and Scripture also
says there is a time to sing to the Lord. I’m glad so many of the
songs God has given us today are sung to the Lord. We are
singing directly to Jesus. He is a person, He’s real, and He’s
listening. He takes pleasure in our praise and our singing. So
we sing to the Lord and sometimes we sing a new song to the
Lord.
The spirit once showed me something interesting about
singing new songs to the Lord. These are songs that are
probably sung just one time by you, never published, never
repeated, just sung one time. If you have not done this, try it!
 Praise is Catalyst to the Spirit
Moving Have you ever noticed
how many of the prophecies,
tongues, interpretations, visions,
and other ministries of the Holy
Spirit come after we have been
praising the Lord? There is a
reason for that. When we praise
the Lord we are ministering to
the Lord. Praise is our ministry
to the Lord. When we minister
to the Lord, He inhabits our
praise, and as His presence and
 power begin to envelop us, and
He then ministers to us! We
minister to Him and He
reciprocates. He returns the
blessing.

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new

song, and his praise in the congregation of
saints.

So we are to praise God in the assembly or “congregation”

of the saints. In Psalm 68:4, in the AMPLIFIED T RANSLATION, it says:
When you sing, you cast up a highway for the Lord.
Isn’t that a beautiful expression? When we have praised the
Lord, we have thrown up a highway. We have provided a way
of entrance for the Lord to come into our midst. He rides on the
praises of his people, as if He is traveling on a highway directly
to us!
 Sometimes we Struggle
to Enter Into Praise

Sometimes you come into the presence of the Lord in a

church and you are not in a good enough mood to praise the
Lord. How many of us have been in that situation? I think all of
us have had times like that. Turn to James 5:13. James is talking
about when the Church comes together and what it ought to
do:

Is any among you afflicted?

The literal translation of afflicted is ill-treated. Are any of

you ill-treated? Before you left home, perhaps your husband
barked at you, or somebody stepped on your toes and
offended you. That is what the word afflicted means! When
you come into the service feeling afflicted, you are spiritually
crippled. Your feet won’t dance and your hands won’t go up.
You’re afflicted.
 James tells you what to do about it.

Let him pray.

What should an afflicted person pray about? He is going to

pray until he gets all of the unforgiveness out of his heart. He
is going to pray until his heart is healed from that affliction.
He’s going to pray until he feels free again!

Is any of you happy? Let him sing songs.

He says that when you’re happy, come in to church singing

praises to God. That is going to help the ones who are praying
through affliction.
You see, the objective is for us to come together as the
army of the Lord! If half of the troops are on sick-call, it’s not
much of an army. If half of them are afflicted and they cannot
get their heart into the battle, or into the flow of God’s Spirit,
the whole service can be sick. So, he says, let’s find a way
through it and get the team together and the army into unity.
Let’s get things to flow!
When we are afflicted, we’re being told that we have a
responsibility before God to do something about it. If you are
afflicted and you do nothing about it, you can put a damper on
the service. God says to get on your knees and pray, make
things right and get your heart settled. Get in tune with the
Lord.
The ones that come in happy, let them start praising the
Lord and that will lift the others. And then he says,

Are any of you sick?

Where’s the best place to be when you’re sick? The church.

He says if you are sick or have pain in your body,

Let him call for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up…

And,

if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven

him.
 We have, until now, been ministering to the sick at the end
of the service. God is telling us to do it at the beginning of the
service. Then, when all the afflicted and lame are touched by
the Lord, everyone is able to focus and praise in unity, and use
praise as a weapon.
Praise is a spiritual force against the power of the enemy.
The devil will do everything he can to keep us defeated; to
keep us from rising up and singing and dancing before the
Lord. That ought to make us mad. If there is anything that
should make a Christian fighting mad, that is it! You say back
to him:

“Devil how dare you! You are not going to put

that stuff on me, I’m not going to have the spirit
of heaviness, I am going to have the garments of
praise. Glory to Jesus!”
 Praise Brings
Triumph over Demonic Spirits
In Psalm 149:2, it says:

Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the

children of Zion be joyful in their King.

The word that is translated rejoice is a Hebrew word that is

also translated triumph. This is another common word for
praise in the Old Testament. “Let the children of Zion triumph!”
He is talking about being triumphant through the act of praise.
In other words, there is a type of praise that puts the enemy to
flight and defeats the devil. Hallelujah! When you start
praising, you begin triumphing.
Think about it. In the Old Testament, they didn’t have the
blood of Jesus as a weapon; they didn’t have the name of
Jesus as a weapon, but they did have praise. Recall when Saul
was troubled by an evil spirit. The only way they knew to help
him was to have David play on a harp and sing praise in the
king’s presence. What did it say happened when David began
to play on his harp and sing praise to God? The evil spirit
departed from King Saul!
You can see why praise was so important to the Old
Testament saints. You can see why they developed such a
lifestyle of praise.
 Various Ways to Express Praise

Going on it says in verse three:

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them

sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

Here the psalmist begins to describe the various ways that

praise can be expressed. One of the ways is by singing,
whether by groups or by individuals. Another way is through
dance. The word here for dance can mean either an individual
or a group dance. The Hebrew word for dance here literally
means to twist or to turn. Another Hebrew word for dance
means to “move nimbly.” And still another Hebrew word for
dance means “to leap” and “to skip.”
I have seen meetings where people begin to dance during
worship in the Spirit and it looked like they were floating on air,
light and feathery. That is dancing unto the Lord. It is not a
fleshly form of dancing, or a dancing to try to draw attention
to oneself, it is the dancing that comes from emptying oneself.
 Then he names various instruments you can perform praise
on. If you follow on to Psalm 150, he talks more about the
instruments.
And then in verse five he says,

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing

aloud upon their beds.

After you get through singing praises in church, you go

home and you are still praising God! You were praising God
standing up, now you are praising God laying down. You
praise him in the daytime and you praise him in the nighttime.
In every circumstance and every situation, even upon your
beds.
 The High Praises of God

Then he says,

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and

a two-edged sword in their hand;

This is the only time in the whole of Scripture that the term
“high praises of God” is used. It means to “exalt God, to glorify
God, to magnify God out of your heart.” The high praises of
God signifies praise that comes from deep within us, running
out of our hearts. It is the expression of exultation,
magnification, and glorification of God. Those are the high
praises of God.
It’s not just how loud you sing, how active you get, but it is
from how deep inside of you that praise comes when it reaches
the surface. Let your praise come out of a heart in deep
gratitude, thanksgiving, and love for the Lord. Let it come up
as an expression of praise unto him — the high praises of God.
It begins in your heart, but it has to get into your mouth for it
to become praise. It has to be vocalized and expressed. In order
for it to become praise, it must be expressed.
A “two edged sword in your hand” refers to the Word of
God. The Word of God and praise are common companions,
and are closely related.
 To Punish and Torment Demons

In verse seven he says we praise God,

To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and

punishments upon the people…
This has a spiritual meaning to it. He is talking here about
the Satanic nations, the principalities and powers of the devil.
The devil has nations of demons set up in the heavenly realm.
The Psalmist says we are going to reap vengeance upon these
nations through our praise, and execute punishment on the
peoples.
Do you realize that demons are punished and tormented by
praise? I want you to understand what your praise does in the
spirit realm! A demon cannot exist in that environment. He
cannot function in that environment. It would be like a fish
trying to exist out of water, or a human trying to exist where
there is no air. You simply cannot function in that environment.
So when we get into the praise of God we are creating an
environment in which the devil cannot function! He cannot
move, and he cannot do his work in that atmosphere. Are you
beginning to see how important it is for us to praise the Lord?
Demons have tormented us enough, and through praise we
get to turn the tables and torment them! That sounds like a
good thing to me.
 Praise is Part of God’s
Governmental Authority In
verse eight he says,

To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles

with fetters of iron…

That word bind means to “keep in prison” or “to restrain by

governmental authority or command.” When you bind these
spiritual potentates, these kings and nobles, you are
imprisoning them and immobilizing them by governmental
authority. Now what government is he talking about? The
kingdom of God. We represent the kingdom of God, and we
function in the authority of God’s kingdom. So we have the
power through our commands backed by governmental
authority to bind the nobles and the kings with chains and
fetters of iron. Hallelujah!

To execute upon them the judgment written: this

 honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.

“This honour have all the saints” means that this is

something every believer can do! You can defeat the enemy
with the weapon of praise. Everyone of us can do it, with no
exceptions.
 Jehoshaphat Goes into Battle
with Praise

Now let’s turn to 2 Chronicles, where we see a live

demonstration of the weapon of praise in action. I walk you
through the story of Jehoshaphat and how he set up a choir
that sang and overcame the enemy.
We begin in Chapter 18, where we learn that Jehoshaphat
messed some things up. He decided that he would be in league
with the king of Israel, the evil King Ahab, and through this he
was almost killed. As he was coming back from that battle, still
licking his wounds, God’s prophet met him and said,
essentially, “Brother you just about did it. You just about
died.”
Then in Chapter 19 we see that Jehoshaphat is laying a
strong spiritual foundation for himself and for the people of
Judah. In verse three, the prophet says to him:

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee,

in that thou hast taken away the groves out of
 the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek
God.

Jehoshaphat “took the groves out of the land.” What does

this mean? It means that he removed idolatry from the land of
Judah. This is one of the good things that he had in his favor,
that he had removed idolatry out of the land.
And then it says “thou… hast prepared thine heart to seek
the Lord God.” Because he had removed the idols, his heart
and the nation’s heart was no longer divided, so he had
prepared himself so that he could properly seek the Lord. Now
that is important to what happens in Chapter 20, and it is
important to what happens from now on in our lives as well. It
is important that we remove everything foreign to God out of
our lives, any idolatrous thing, and in doing so prepare
ourselves to seek the Lord.
Then in 2 Chronicles 19:5, Jehoshaphat appointed some
judges to be rulers and magistrates in the land. Look what he
said to these judges:

Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon

you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity
with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons,
nor taking of gifts [i.e., bribes].
 He said, in essence, to those judges:

“I charge you, as you fulfill your responsibilities,

you fear the Lord. You do a job of justice and
equity and fairness. Don’t take bribes, and don’t
you mistreat anybody.”

This is still part of that foundation for Chapter 20. In verse

nine, he saw to it that the ministry of the priest was
reestablished, and this is what he said to the priests:

And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in

the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect
heart.

He said, in essence, to the priests,

“When you minister before the Lord in the

tabernacle, you be sure that you’re doing it in
fear or respect of the Lord. You be sure that your
ministry to God is faithful and done with a perfect
heart before the Lord.”
 What we’re seeing is that Jehoshaphat instituted spiritual
reforms in the nation, and the people were living lives that were
pleasing to the Lord, having turned their hearts completely to
God.
Now let’s move into chapter 20.

It came to pass after this also, that the children of

Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them
other beside the Ammonites, came against
Jehoshaphat to battle.

Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat,

saying, There cometh a great multitude against
thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and,
behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

So Jehoshaphat the King received this message, a dire

warning, and was asked “What are you going to do? Our
enemies are on the borders of our nation! There’s a whole
horde of warriors and chariots and armed men coming to
invade us!”
In verse three we are told Jehoshaphat feared:

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek

 the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judah.
2 Chron. 20:3

This reminds me of what the psalmist says: “At what time I

am afraid I will trust in God.” The fear that Jehoshaphat had
caused him to seek God. Then he began to pray and fast and
call upon God.

And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask

help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of
Judah they came to seek the Lord.
2 Chron. 20:4

You can see the attitude of the people. They did not panic.
They were following their leader, Jehoshaphat, who was
praying and fasting, and the people fell right into step and
began to seek the Lord too. From all the cities of Judah they
came to seek the Lord.
Next, he testifies of the greatness and the power of God.

And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of

 Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord,
before the new court,
And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou
God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the
kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is
there not power and might, so that none is able to
withstand thee?

2 Chron. 20:5–6

This is the confession that is coming out of his mouth. He

began to proclaim the greatness of God. He was speaking
words of faith, and confessing his recognition of the power of
God to help. This is what we are supposed to do, too. God
already knows what your problem is, before you even tell him.

Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the
inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel,
and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend
for ever?
2 Chron. 20:7

Jehoshaphat is saying: “You are the Lord that has already

rescued Your people. You have already brought us into our
inheritance.”
They had moved into their inheritance, but the enemy was
plotting. You cannot let your guard down, or let your defenses
down, you have to stay in the ways of God. You must avoid
passivity in your spiritual life.1 Just because you have had
victories with the Lord, and you are walking with the Lord
today, doesn’t mean that the devil chooses to forget about you
the rest of your life. We see here that Satan had not forgotten
about Israel. He was plotting destruction for them, or at the
very least, trying to hinder God’s people.

If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword,

judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand
before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy
name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our
affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
2 Chron. 20:9

He said here that it doesn’t matter if it’s war they were

facing, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine. The Lord had said
that if His people were to stand before His house and invoke
His name and call on Him, God would come to their rescue!
And this holds true for us today.
 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and
Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not
let Israel invade, when they came out of the land
of Egypt, but they turned from them, and
destroyed them not;
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to
cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast
given us to inherit.
2 Chron. 20:10–11

Notice how the enemy really tries to get us out of our

inheritance, which is the kingdom of God. When we are in the
kingdom, we are in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost. We are content, we are at peace, we are at rest. But
when the devil sees us as such, it drives him crazy. So he
devises plans and strategies to try to get us out of our
inheritance, so that we lose the closeness to God’s Spirit and
fall short on the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have

no might against this great company that cometh
against us; neither know we what to do: but our
eyes are upon thee.
2 Chron. 20:12
 Our own strength, our own flesh, our own resources are
totally insufficient and ineffective in spiritual warfare. This is
what Jehoshaphat is telling us here. So, we instead turn our
eyes to the Lord. Judah was not turning to Egypt or to Israel in
this case, as they had done in times past; they were strictly
relying on the Lord. This is a major change in heart for them.

And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their

little ones, their wives, and their children.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son
of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,
a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of
the Lord in the midst of the congregation…
2 Chron. 20:14

The Spirit of God moved in the midst of that congregation,

and moved upon Jahaziel, a son of Asaph. His family was
responsible for gathering and recording all the songs of praise.
God’s Spirit moved upon Zechariah and he began to
prophesy. Take a moment and listen to the prophecy that came
out:

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye

inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king
 Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be
not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
To morrow go ye down against them: behold,
they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find
them at the end of the brook, before the
wilderness of Jeruel.
2 Chron. 20:15–16

Pay careful attention to what is in operation here. Did you

catch it? It is a gift of knowledge whereby the Lord is telling
the nation of Judah where the enemy is going to be and how to
cut him off at the pass. Hallelujah!

Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set

yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation
of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against
them: for the Lord will be with you.
2 Chron. 20:17

The Lord was telling them that they had to stand in faith. If
fear came in they could not stand in faith. God said to them
“Don’t be dismayed, don’t be fearful, don’t be hopeless.
Tomorrow go out against them because the Lord will be with
you!”
When Jehoshaphat heard this, he
bowed his head with his face to the ground: and
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell
before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
2 Chron. 20:18

Notice their response to this prophecy was worship. This

continues in the next verse:

And the Levites, of the children of the

Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites,
stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a
loud voice on high.

The people of God stood up and began to praise with a

loud voice. Remember, we have not even come to the battle
yet! This is the foundation that was being laid, the spiritual
foundation. They were doing their homework, and they did it
through praise.
 And they rose early in the morning, and went
forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they
went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me,
O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe
in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established;
believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
2 Chron. 20:20

Jehoshaphat is saying that they will not take the enemy in

victory if they do not go out in faith. “Believe the prophets,”
he exhorts, and the people “will prosper.” God had spoken
through His prophets — now it was the people’s turn to trust
and believe in the Lord. The prophets in the Old Testament
only spoke the Word of God. When you read Isaiah and
Jeremiah and the rest of the prophets, you are reading the
prophet’s words, which are the Word of God. So Jehoshaphat
is essentially saying to Judah, and to us today, “have faith in
the Word of God, have faith in his promises!”
God had made a promise to go with them, deliver them out
of the hand of the enemy, and give them victory. God is saying
the same thing to me and to you through the words of
Jehoshaphat. We are not going to have victory, like we want,
unless we stand.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of

God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil
 day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph. 6:13

Unless we trust in God and His promises, we will not have

the fullness of victory that we desire.

And when he had consulted with the people, he

appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should
praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out
before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for
his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Chron. 20:21

He sent a choir to go before the armed troops, to sing

praises to the Lord, “for His mercy endureth forever.” Just a
simple praise they were to sing; isn’t that powerful? Surely it
had to sound ridiculous to the enemies who heard them
coming.

And when they began to sing and to praise, the

Lord set ambushments against the children of
Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come
 against Judah; and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up
against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to
slay and destroy them: and when they had made
an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one
helped to destroy another.

The word for that is confusion. This is a great example of

what happens in the heavenly realm when you begin to praise
the Lord — it causes confusion in the camp of the enemy!
Saints, the demons go nuts! They go into confusion, they
begin to attack one another.
1 See The Perils of Passivity, by Frank Hammond. Available at
www.impactchristianbooks.com
 Praise Causes Confusion
in the Camp of the Enemy

Let me give you a few parallel passages on that point. Look

at Psalm 35:26–27:

Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion

together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be
clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify
themselves against me.
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour
my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually,
Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in
the prosperity of his servant.

David is saying to us “OK, the devil is moving in but he is

going to be confounded. He is going to be ashamed. He is
going to be brought into confusion and everyone who is on
my side should start praising the Lord with me.”
 In Psalm 70, we see the same promise again:

Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek

after my soul: let them be turned backward, and
put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

Let them be turned back for a reward of their

shame that say, Aha, aha.
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in
thee: and let such as love thy salvation say
continually, Let God be magnified.

Psalm 70:2–4

David brought the enemy into confusion through the praise

of God’s people.
Also look at Psalm 109:

Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and

let them cover themselves with their own
confusion, as with a mantle.
I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea,
 I will praise him among the multitude.
Psalm 109:29–30

Praise God! The praises of the people of God have caused

the adversary to be clothed in shame and covered with
confusion. Praising God does not just follow the confusion and
defeat of the enemy; it precedes the confusion and defeat of
the enemy. Praise is a powerful weapon against the power of
the devil.
 Binding the Strongman
and Taking His Treasures (Spoil)

Returning to 2 Chronicles 20:

And when Judah came toward the watch tower in

the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude,
and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the
earth, and none escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to
take away the spoil of them, they found among
them in abundance both riches with the dead
bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped
off for themselves, more than they could carry
away: and they were three days in gathering of
the spoil, it was so much.

2 Chron. 20:24–25
 Praise had bound and defeated the enemy, and the people
of God went in and spoiled his house! First you bind the
enemy, in this case through praise, and then you spoil his
house (Matt. 12:29, Mark 3:27). They went in to the camp of the
enemy and took spoil. In the same way, the devil today has a
lot of precious things that belong to the people of God. When
we defeat those “kings,” we too will spoil their houses and
we’ll take away precious jewels and gems that the devil is
holding in his snare. We will spoil his house!
This reminds me of the powerful promise for deliverance
written into the prophecy of Cyrus in Isaiah 45:

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I

will break down gates of bronze and cut through
bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places, so that you may
know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who
summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:2–3 (NIV)

God “breaks through gates of bronze” and “cuts through

bars of iron” to deliver His people from the snares of Satan. But
He does not stop there. He has a purpose in this victory and
that is to reveal the “treasures of darkness, riches stored in
secret places” within you. You see, God sees the gold hidden
inside you, and He wants to vanquish the enemy so that your
inner treasure can be brought into the light, and can be used to
its fullest potential.

And on the fourth day they assembled

themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there
they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the
same place was called, The valley of Berachah,
unto this day.
2 Chron. 20:26

They praised before the battle, they praised during the

battle, and then, after the victory, they praised again after the
battle! This was the lifestyle of the people in the Old Testament
who had victory. They had their lives in order; their priorities
were in order. They had removed the garbage out of their lives
and they were seeking the Lord. They were living in justice.
They were serving God and worshiping Him with sincere
hearts.
So when the day of battle finally came, and they went out to
meet their enemy, they were already versed in praise, because
this was their lifestyle, their daily practice. They were prepared.
It was nothing new to them when God told them to go before
the enemy and use praise as a form of warfare.
 Then they returned, every man of Judah and
Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of
them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the
Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and
harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of
those countries, when they had heard that the
Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
2 Chron. 20:27–29

Notice, this was not just one victory but many victories
wrapped into one. Judah’s triumph put fear in the hearts of all
the kingdoms who learned of this victory. All their neighbors
heard that the Lord God fights for Israel. You can see the level
of defeat their enemy experienced. It not only defeated the
enemy coming against them, but it curtailed any designs
against Judah by the rest of the surrounding kingdoms. Think
about the implications of this for our own spiritual lives.
Saints, consider the power of praise. We are seeing what
God by his Spirit is doing in the heavenly realm for us. We are
seeing what is being accomplished through our praise in God.
Our praise in God is essential and vital. It’s so important!

So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his

 God gave him rest round about.
2 Chron. 20:30

Jehoshaphat’s enemy had been defeated. As a result, his

whole kingdom was at peace. His whole kingdom was at rest.
Do you see the level of victory God has in store for you? And
the weapon that brought the victory was praise.
Oh, that we would appreciate the power of praise! With
Jehoshaphat, God has given us insight into what praise truly
produces in the spiritual realm. Let us take this lesson to heart
so that we might develop and maintain a lifestyle of praise. I am
talking about a total lifestyle of praise, genuine praise, even to
the point of praising God on your bed.
I’m not talking about a “put on,” or something worked up in
the flesh. I am talking about something that flows out of the
innermost part of us. I am talking about being so full of what
God means to you and His goodness to you that there is no lid
big enough or strong enough to hold that fountain of praise
back. It is going to gush out like an artesian well.
 Conclusion
We must not, under any circumstance, let the enemy rob us
of our weapons. He cannot be allowed to take our weapons
away from us. I don’t care what others say, what wisecracks
they make about us because we praise the Lord and dance,
shout and sing. Don’t become afraid or become timid. Don’t
become embarrassed. The devil can use shame and
embarrassment to take a weapon away from you that is of
tremendous power against the devil and his demons.
Praise is a powerful weapon. We need to use it effectively,
and in a timely way, against all the powers of wickedness.
Amen!