Praise III - Spiritual Growth for New Believers

2. Praise and Victory

You’ve seen that praise is a sacrifice, and now you need to see that praise is also our method of spiritual warfare and victory. We often hear people say that Satan fears God's children's prayers the most. Whenever God's children kneel down to pray, Satan must flee. This is why Satan often attacks God's children to prevent them from praying. It’s a common form of attack. However, let me add one more thing: Satan’s greatest attack isn’t necessarily against prayer; his greatest attack is against praise. This doesn’t mean that Satan doesn't attack prayer. When Christians pray, Satan comes to attack. Speaking with others is easy, but when it comes to prayer, it becomes difficult. Often, Satan creates difficulties that make us feel like praying isn’t that easy—this is a reality. However, Satan doesn’t only attack prayer; he attacks God’s children’s praise even more. If Satan can stop all the praises to God, that’s what he hopes for the most. Prayer is often spiritual warfare, but praise is spiritual triumph. Prayer is spiritual struggle, but praise is spiritual victory. Whenever we are able to praise, Satan will surely flee. That’s why praise is the thing he hates the most. If possible, he will use all his power to prevent us from praising God. When God's children are foolish, they look at their circumstances and feelings and stop praising. But the more we know God, the more we realize that even in the prison in Philippi, we can still sing praises to God (Acts 16:25). Paul and Silas praised God in the prison, and as a result, the prison doors were opened.

In Acts, there are two instances where prison doors were opened. One was for Peter, and the other for Paul. In Peter's case, the church prayed earnestly for him, and later an angel opened the doors and led him out (Acts 12:3–12). On the other hand, Paul and Silas were in prison, still in pain, and their feet were in stocks in the inner prison of Rome. What joy could they have had? What could they possibly sing about? But there were two men there, their spirits were lifted high, far beyond everything. They saw that God was still seated on the throne, unchanged. Though their situation changed, their feelings changed, and their bodies were suffering, God was still on the throne and was worthy of praise. In that place, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. Their praise, coming out of their pain and loss, was a sacrifice. This kind of praise was also victory.

When you pray, you're still in the situation; when you praise, you rise above the situation. While we pray and plead, we’re still in the situation, still bound by it. The more you beg God, the more you feel trapped by the problem. However, if you let God take you beyond the prison, beyond the chains, beyond the pain, and beyond the suffering and humiliation, you’ll praise His name. Paul and Silas sang hymns to God, and they were taken beyond the prison, beyond the chains, and beyond the shame. They could praise because they had been lifted up by God. When they praised, the prison doors were opened, the chains fell off, and even the jailer was saved.

Many times, prayer fails, but praise succeeds. This is a fundamental principle. If you cannot pray, why not praise? God has given us another tool to help us gain victory. When you cannot pray, when your spirit feels overwhelmed, and you can hardly breathe, try praising God. If you can pray, then pray; if you cannot pray, praise. We often think that when the burden is heavy, we should pray, but when the burden is gone, we should praise. But remember, there are times when the burden is so heavy that we can’t pray, and it’s then we should praise. Don’t wait for the burden to be lifted before praising. Praise in the heaviest times. When you face a difficult situation and feel exhausted, remember: “Why not learn to praise?” This is the best opportunity. When you praise in such moments, God’s Spirit works to bring you out, and all the doors will open, and chains will fall off.

We need to learn to maintain this exalted spirit, to rise above the spirit of attack. Prayer doesn’t always allow us to touch the throne, but praise, no matter when, will always allow us to touch the throne. Prayer doesn’t always bring victory every time, but praise, from beginning to end, never fails. God’s children should praise Him not only when things are good, not only when there are no problems, no wounds, no difficulties. In fact, it is in times of difficulty, when we are wounded, that we should praise Him the most. In those moments, you should lift your head and say, “Lord! I praise You!” Your eyes may be filled with tears, but your mouth can still praise; your heart may be in pain, but your spirit can still praise. Your spirit can rise just as high as you praise, and you can rise just as high as the praise you give. The most foolish people are those who complain. The more they complain, the more they get trapped inside; the more they are unhappy, the more trapped they feel; the more they allow the difficulties to press them down, the harder it becomes to breathe. Many people are a bit more advanced; when they face difficulties, they pray. They struggle, trying hard to escape the situation. The environment tries to bury them, their feelings try to bury them, but they don’t want to be buried, so they try to pray their way out. Many times, prayer will bring them out. However, there are times when prayer doesn’t bring them out, but when they start to praise, they are set free.

You must offer the sacrifice of praise. When you place yourself in a position of victory, you immediately transcend everything. No difficulty can bury you. Sometimes, it feels like something is pressing you down, but when you praise, you break free.

Let’s look at 2 Chronicles 20:20-22: "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.' 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.' 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."

Here, there was a battle. When Jehoshaphat was king, Judah was very weak and near the end. The Moabites, Ammonites, and people of Mount Seir came against Judah, and the people were hopeless, believing they would be defeated and destroyed. Jehoshaphat, a revival king, was still a man who feared God. He told the people to trust in the Lord. What did they do? They appointed men to sing and praise the Lord. These singers, dressed in holy attire, went ahead of the army, praising God: "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever." Notice the key word here: "as they began to sing and praise." When they began praising, the Lord set ambushes and the enemies were defeated.

We see here that spiritual victory is not won by fighting, but by praise. We need to learn to overcome Satan through praise. Not only do we overcome Satan through prayer, but also through praise. Many people see Satan as so fierce and themselves as so weak, and they try to struggle and pray. But here we see a special principle: spiritual victory is not through fighting, but through praise. God's children often face temptation, thinking the difficulty is too great and trying to use some method to deal with it. They focus on the methods, but the more they think of methods, the harder it is to win. By focusing on methods, they and their enemy, Satan, are placed on the same battlefield, which makes it hard to win. But in 2 Chronicles 20, one side had an army, the other side had singers. If they weren’t believers, they’d look crazy. But thanks be to God, we are believers, not madmen.

Among God’s children, many face heavy trials and are often tested. When the trials are fierce and the battle intense, it seems like there’s no way out. The power on one side and the weakness on the other seem incomparable. It feels as if they are being swept away by a storm. The difficulties are so great that they cannot be overcome. At that moment, their thoughts naturally focus on the difficulties, and their eyes are fixed on their problems. The greater the trial, the more people look at themselves and their circumstances. But those who know God will look to Him, and the more they are tested, the more they will praise Him. So, our eyes must learn not to look at ourselves, but to look at God. In that moment, look up to God and say, "Lord, You are above everything, I praise You!" A loud praise, coming from the heart, the praise flowing from the wounds, is a sacrifice of praise, and it is accepted and pleasing to God. When the sacrifice of praise goes before God, Satan, the enemy, is defeated. The sacrifice of praise is effective before God. If you can praise God from your heart, even when you feel wounded, you will stand firm and be victorious. When you praise, you will see that the way to victory is wide open!

New believers should not think that they need many years to learn the lesson of praise. The lesson of praise can be learned from the beginning. Every time you encounter difficulty, ask God for mercy and refrain from using your own methods. Instead, learn the lesson of praise. Many spiritual battles are won through praise, but because of a lack of praise, victory is not achieved. If you believe in God, even in difficulties, you can say, "I praise Your name; You are higher than everything, You are stronger than everything, Your love endures forever!" Every person who praises God transcends everything, and through praise, they keep winning. This is the principle; this is the truth.