[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your weapons of warfare [1]

By Oke Chinye Read: Psalm 149:1-9 Meditation verse: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Psalm 149:6). As Christians, we do not deal with our issues in the natural ways of the world. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (NIV). Today’s reading highlights two of such powerful weapons. The first is “high praises of God in our mouths”. God delights in and inhabits the praises of his people. What this means is that wherever His name is being praised, He shows up there. And since God is almighty, He always shows up in the fullness of His might, and victory is guaranteed. We see this happening in several instances in the bible. The people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir came to battle against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He feared but proclaimed a fast to seek help from God. The strategy God gave to them was to praise His name. When the people of Judah began to sing and praise God, the Lord set the different armies against themselves, and they destroyed one another. Judah won the war without lifting a finger. The people praised and The Almighty showed up (2 Chronicles 20:1-30). The city of Jericho was securely shut up; no one could go out or come in. How then would the children of Israel go in to capture the city? God commanded Joshua to instruct the men of war to go around the city for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. They were to march around the city seven times on the seventh day, with the priests blowing the trumpets. At the sound of the long blast with the ram’s horn, the people were to shout with a great shout. They did exactly as they were commanded. The wall of the city fell down flat and people went up into the city - every man straight before him - and they took the city. Again, the people praised, and the Almighty showed up (Joshua 6:2-5). Praise from the upright is beautiful (Psalm 33:1). When next you are faced with a seemly impossible situation, why not deploy the weapon of praise. IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder, Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM) For Prayers and Counseling email [email protected] or call +2348155525555 For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org