The New Testament unquestionably tells us that a Christian is involved in a battle, a struggle, a veritable war. We are told that we fight, not human forces, but spiritual principalities and powers that inhabit the atmosphere around us. Furthermore, we are encouraged or more emphatically, exhorted to clothe ourselves with the armour of God, in order that we might be able to effectively withstand the attacks of the evil one(Ephesians 6:8-10).
Spiritual victories are won through a variety of methods such as intercessory prayer or the confession of God's Word. But there is another form of spiritual warfare most believers fail to consider and that is praise and worship!
This theme of praise as a form of warfare can be traced throughout the scriptures, beginning back in the book of Exodus. Imagine the scene after the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea. Egypt's army had just drowned in the rushing waters, and the people were safe on the other side. Miriam grabs a tambourine and leads the women in singing, "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumped gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea"(Exodus 15:1, KJV). On one occasion Moses and all Israel sang a tremendous song of triumph unto the Lord, and within that song is contained an exciting revelation: "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name" (Ex 15:2 KVJ). The NIV says, "the Lord is a warrior."
After seeing how God dealt with Pharaoh and his armies, the Israelites knew they had witnessed a great battle strategist in action.
Joshua was given a similar revelation of God's character. As he was about to lead Israel into Canaan to conquer Jericho, a man appeared to him with a drawn sword. "Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?" 'neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come' (Joshua 5:13:14).
The Lord was, and still is, a warrior, and Commander-in-Chief of heaven's armies. Someone might tell us that that was an "early" picture of God, and he has progressively revealed Himself throughout history so that now we know him as a kind, gracious, loving heavenly Father. Yes, during the church age He has been seen as a God of grace, peace and love, but when we see Him after this time, which we all believe is coming to an end, we see Him again as a God of war. And also remember this, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He hates sin and goes to war against it. So long as His enemy is loose in the earth, God will be known as a warrior.
The next article will be on the power of Praise in our spiritual warfare. But I wanted to show you God's relationship in warfare first.
Come join us this Sunday, here at 'The SUB,' @ 10 o'clock for a three-week special on, 'Praise: A Weapon of Spiritual Warfare', or you can catch my blog or hear it from the web page.
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