Weapons of Praise & Worship

Copyright © 2014 Abimbola Salu.

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Except as otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version (NIV). Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica US, Inc. ®. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message Bible. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures taken from the King James Bible – Public Domain.

"By permission from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition ©2010 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (www.Merriam-Webster.com)."

Fight the good fight with all thy might-by S.B. Monsell (1863)- Public Domain.

Christian! Seek not yet repose-by Charlotte Elliot (1836)- Public Domain.

God Moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform by William Cowper (1774)- Public Domain.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-1788-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1790-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1789-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922074

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/07/2014

Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1   Why Do We Have To Fight Battles?

Chapter 2   The Spiritual World

Chapter 3   The Weapons of Our Warfare

Chapter 4   Winning Wars

Chapter 5   The Weapons of Praise and Worship

Chapter 6   How to Praise and Worship God

About the Author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to God Almighty for his grace, mercy, and faithfulness towards me. I also dedicate this book to my father, George Seton (1921–1998), and my mother, Beatrice Seton (1928–2007). They introduced me to Christ at a very young age, and I have followed the path to this day. I am deeply grateful for their love and support and especially for my education. This has helped me greatly in all countries of the world I have been privileged to call home.

To my wonderful husband and soul mate, Femi Salu, all my love. You have been my best friend, partner, confidant, and support through thick and thin. I love you. To my beautiful children, Jennifer, Sharon, Peter, Gabriel, and George, you are the jewels in my crown. I love and appreciate you. To my friend and prayer partner, Funmilayo Afolabi, I thank God for your life and may the fire of God continue to burn brightly in you. Amen.

Chapter 1

Why Do We Have To Fight Battles?

Life is a constant battle between good and evil. The journey of life is full of twists and turns. If there is one guaranteed thing in life, it is this: we will face a lot of challenges. The battle starts from the cradle and ends in the grave. For some people, however, the battle goes even beyond the grave. As long as you are alive, you will have to fight. Those who refuse to fight battles have already surrendered to the Enemy. Living such a life is a path not worth taking because it will be a life full of nothingness—an empty life. If you want to fulfill your divine destiny—if you want to fulfill the purpose for which God has created you—then you must be prepared to fight many battles. The greater the blessing God has deposited in your life or destiny, the greater the obstacles you will face in life, and conversely, the greater and fiercer the battle will be.

Present world events and situations, some of which people have never experienced before, are making life more stressful than normal. Now more than ever before, people are facing natural and manmade disasters. Weather-related problems, which sometimes leave people homeless and destitute in a few hours, have brought many people stress and worry. In addition, the onset of a global economic recession has afflicted people with serious economic woes, including unemployment, home foreclosures, bankruptcies, and business closures. As a consequence of these circumstances, family life, including marriages and other interpersonal relationships, face greater challenges. Health issues sometimes appear in the mix, and as government’s dwindling resources result in cuts in healthcare benefits, many people find themselves afraid and perplexed. As people begin to look for solutions to life’s problems, they discover a need for an anchor in their lives. In the face of calamities or disasters, people usually come together to pray. Using that shared instrument of prayer, they turn to God or to the deity of other religions for answers to life’s problems.

Men and women of faith are no strangers to prayer. They seek God’s face in prayer as they try to make sense of all that is happening around them. God has made available to us many weapons to fight the battles of life. These weapons include prayer and fasting, using the power in the blood of Jesus, and the Word of God. One of the most powerful weapons God has made available for us is the weapon of praise and worship. Most Christians, however, are unaware of this weapon, so it remains underutilized.

We see a wonderful demonstration of this weapon at work when the children of Judah faced an imminent attack from an alliance of enemies. According to 2 Chronicles 20, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites assembled against King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah to destroy them. Fear gripped the people of Judah, because the enemies had crept upon them stealthily, and they were greatly outnumbered. King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for the nation, and they assembled together to seek God’s face in prayer.

In the assembly, God spoke to the nation through Jahaziel, a prophet. God told them to go out and to march against the enemies the next day because the battle [was] the Lord’s. Instead of marching out with armed soldiers, King Jehoshaphat adopted a strategy that defied all logic and well-tested military strategies. He positioned praise singers at the head of the army, and they sang and praised God in the beauty of his holiness. As they began to praise and to worship, God set up ambushes in the camp of the enemies. In great confusion, the enemies began to fight and to destroy themselves. By the time the men of Judah came upon them, they found dead bodies because the enemies had completely destroyed themselves. King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah did not need to fire a single shot! Not only did God win the battle for them, but he also gave them three days to collect the spoils of war, ensuring they did not leave empty-handed. They returned to Jerusalem singing and rejoicing, and they offered praise and thanksgiving to God.

As we can see, the weapon of praise and worship is available to as many as want to use it to fight the battles of life. If you are not a Christian, however, I cannot offer you this divine assurance. Please take this important step and give your life to Christ. Otherwise, you are on your own. God will only help those who confess Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Occasionally his grace and mercy may carry non-Christians through some situations, but they can never enjoy the full dominion available to those who confess Jesus is Lord.

As a child of God, you do not have to fight life’s battles alone. The Bible offers us assurances:

•   The Lord shall fight for you (Ex. 14:14, Deut. 1:30, 3:22).

•   Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you (2 Chron. 20:17).

•   Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4 KJV).

•   If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).

Some people may be wondering if fighting battles and engaging in warfare are scripturally sound actions for Christians to take. I mean, as children of God, aren’t we supposed to be genteel, sweet, peace-loving individuals who wouldn’t hurt a fly? Aren’t we supposed to turn the other cheek when we are confronted with situations and just allow others to cheat us out of many things? Does becoming a Christian mean everything will begin to run smoothly for us? Since our reward is in heaven, aren’t we supposed to be agreeable with everyone and ruffle no feathers? Many unbelievers even think Christians are supposed to be dull and drab people who will not complain when you cheat them. Right? Wrong!

To prove Christians are supposed to engage in the battles of life, we need to know the character of our Father, God Almighty, and see whether he is against battles and wars. We also need to look at the nature of his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and know what he thinks about wars and battles.

Anyone who has read the Bible knows that God is a man of war. The Bible declares in Exodus 15:3, The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. One of the covenant names of God is Jehovah Sabaoth, which means the Lord of hosts. Indeed, the psalmist declares in Psalm 46:7, The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (KJV). God himself declares in Isaiah 45:12, I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens and all their host have I commanded. A host is a large number of people. Since God is the Lord of hosts, he is the commander of many. A commander is a military officer in charge of an army. Therefore, our God is no stranger to wars.

God knows about wars, and he has many different methods of winning battles. He is God Almighty. The Bible is full of different examples of how God won battles for his children. Sometimes he commanded his children to go out and to fight the enemies themselves. Sometimes his children did not have to lift a finger to fight. God did all the work for them. Sometimes he used terrifying noises to frighten the enemies. He can choose any method he desires. He is Jehovah Sabaoth, the man of war! He has never lost a battle, he has always been successful in wars, and he is a winner every time!

Again, let us take a look at the life of Jesus Christ. Even before he was born, his manner of conception was controversial. His father, Joseph, was contemplating not getting married to his mother, Mary, because he could not understand why, when they had not been intimate, she was with child. God then sent his angel to Joseph in a dream. He advised Joseph not to divorce Mary because the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit. (See Matt. 1:18–24.)

Jesus Christ, though a man of peace understood that sometimes force needed to be applied to get the desired result. He said, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent taketh it by force (Matt. 11:12). Jesus demonstrated holy anger when