Praise Stills The Enemy
God has a system in place which takes care of our enemy satan. One of the most powerful tools against our enemy is praise coming forth out of our mouths as a result of hearts that trust the Lord. Let’s look at two scriptures that are very specific concerning the results of praise.
In Psalm 8:2 we read this:
“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”
In Matthew 21:15, Jesus referred to this scripture in the Old Testament, and He said:
“Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"
“Wait a minute,” you might say, “didn’t Jesus just misquote that scripture?” No, He interpreted that scripture for us when He said that even out of the mouth of the youngest Christian, God has perfected praise (ordained strength) that He might still the enemy. Jesus was telling us here that praise is strength for us. It is the avenue by which we take on God’s strength for our situation.
In the Strong’s Concordance, the word “strength” in Psalm 8:2 is force, security, majesty, praise, boldness, loud, might,, power, strength, strong. We see here that this word “strength” is a very dynamic word of the power of God that is released on our behalf in the form of praise.
When we look up the word “still” in the Strong’s Concordance, we find that it basically means to cause or make to cease or leave. In other words, praise causes the enemy to desist in his maneuvers against us. Why is that? Praise releases our Father to take care of things for us. It releases His strength and power to be brought forth on our behalf.
The word “perfected” in Matthew 21:15 means a sense of completion or thoroughness. God is telling us that He will complete what we lack to win a battle when we praise Him. He is the One Who wins the battle for us. Our part is to praise Him, to recognize that He is our Almighty God, Who is there for us.
In the Old Testament we see times when the praisers went before the warriors, and the battles were won. We are told that the battle is the Lord’s. We need to heed that word. We cannot win one battle against our enemy. God is the One Who wins all battles. That is why we must trust Him. Praise is a natural outgrowth of trust.
We must remember that Jesus has ultimately won the battle for all of mankind. The battle has already been won. What we are dealing with is our personal battles in our minds to enforce what Jesus has already won for us. Our battles are against the pressure that satan brings against us to convince us that it won’t work for us, even though Jesus has already won the battle for us. Here is where praise is of the utmost importance. When we praise God, we get our minds off our situations. When we praise, we focus on Him instead of our contrary circumstances, and our minds become stayed or fixed on Him. He is no longer tied up by our doubt and unbelief system which is full of anxiety and concern.
Out of our mouths God perfects praise or ordains strength that He might still the enemy or avenger in the battle before us. When we praise, the battle becomes the Lord’s. Then it’s easy to win the battle because we give God the open door to come and still the enemy with the open door of our mouths.
In Psalm 8:2 we read this:
“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”
In Matthew 21:15, Jesus referred to this scripture in the Old Testament, and He said:
“Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"
“Wait a minute,” you might say, “didn’t Jesus just misquote that scripture?” No, He interpreted that scripture for us when He said that even out of the mouth of the youngest Christian, God has perfected praise (ordained strength) that He might still the enemy. Jesus was telling us here that praise is strength for us. It is the avenue by which we take on God’s strength for our situation.
In the Strong’s Concordance, the word “strength” in Psalm 8:2 is force, security, majesty, praise, boldness, loud, might,, power, strength, strong. We see here that this word “strength” is a very dynamic word of the power of God that is released on our behalf in the form of praise.
When we look up the word “still” in the Strong’s Concordance, we find that it basically means to cause or make to cease or leave. In other words, praise causes the enemy to desist in his maneuvers against us. Why is that? Praise releases our Father to take care of things for us. It releases His strength and power to be brought forth on our behalf.
The word “perfected” in Matthew 21:15 means a sense of completion or thoroughness. God is telling us that He will complete what we lack to win a battle when we praise Him. He is the One Who wins the battle for us. Our part is to praise Him, to recognize that He is our Almighty God, Who is there for us.
In the Old Testament we see times when the praisers went before the warriors, and the battles were won. We are told that the battle is the Lord’s. We need to heed that word. We cannot win one battle against our enemy. God is the One Who wins all battles. That is why we must trust Him. Praise is a natural outgrowth of trust.
We must remember that Jesus has ultimately won the battle for all of mankind. The battle has already been won. What we are dealing with is our personal battles in our minds to enforce what Jesus has already won for us. Our battles are against the pressure that satan brings against us to convince us that it won’t work for us, even though Jesus has already won the battle for us. Here is where praise is of the utmost importance. When we praise God, we get our minds off our situations. When we praise, we focus on Him instead of our contrary circumstances, and our minds become stayed or fixed on Him. He is no longer tied up by our doubt and unbelief system which is full of anxiety and concern.
Out of our mouths God perfects praise or ordains strength that He might still the enemy or avenger in the battle before us. When we praise, the battle becomes the Lord’s. Then it’s easy to win the battle because we give God the open door to come and still the enemy with the open door of our mouths.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 10:17 AM
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