Praise and Spiritual Warfare

Our spiritual journey consists of many facets, but praising God seems to be the one that shines the brightest.  We have learned how to praise God for the sunshine and the rain, which seems to detract from the true meaning of praise. Yet, it is this type of acceptance that allows us to praise God simply because he is God, rather than for his mercies.  David instructed his singers to Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever, (2nd Chronicles 20:21). What were those mercies? 

When greeting one another we often stick to a common script, emphasizing what God is doing for us through well-used scriptures, cliches, and platitudes. Often when these occasions, services or sessions are over, many of us returned to our state of deep contemplation, wonder if this is what following Christ is all about. We are enduring our pain and suffering and our praise is based upon thanking God for waking us up this morning.  Now, I have a problem with this when I consider the lifespan of some ministers, or for example, my father, and my brother, these whom I would classify as "Men of God". When I hear the testimony of how blessed we are to be alive, there is a type of sadness that overshadows me as I wonder why were the cursed to die so young. 

When those among us through time or chance realize that waking up in the morning is no longer the sustainable option, seeds of doubt are watered.  These seeds of doubt will grow and torment the soul who is suffering from an affliction and praying for deliverance.  Where is that person that is capable of ministering to this condition of humanity?  It becomes easy to visualize a group of people following after Christ shouting praises while the sun is shining.  Then, there is that seemly forsaken multitude standing on the sideline watching, wondering what all of the hooplas is about while we all endure the same benefits. 

The first question that we will pose in this discussion is,  what is praise?  How do we praise our heavenly Father or even our earthly father?  Is praising God voicing emotionalize words of adoration, the same as the rock star who write songs praise a woman's body or the rap star whose lirics glorify drugs and crime?   Why is our existence a component of praise and worship, when if we considered the alternate, the whole act become irrelevant?  In essence, I praise God for creating me, for if he had not created me I would what...  A unique situation that is equivalent to saying, God created man so that he would have somebody to give stuff to.  Are we so important that we feel that God's plan for the world is centered around us? What do we praise God for?  Are we praising God for self-serving  items or events (money and positions) that contribute nothing to the advancement of his kingdom?  Why is opening your eyes this morning so important to the Kingdom?  When Paul reflected upon the question he concluded that to remain here would be more profitable to the Kingdom.    

The Bible is filled with scriptures that call upon us to praise the Lord.  A computer search of the King James version found two hundred eighteen verses that used the word praise, one hundred and thirty-two was found in the book of Psalms.  It seems as if David was a man who loves to praise God.  A quick study of David's life seems to indicate that he took time out of his praising to fight battles, and when the battle was won he took the time to praise God.  An interesting observation which allows the conclusion to be drawn, that if David had spent all of his time praising God, he would have lost his greatest battle. Thus, we can conclude that there is a time to praise God and there is a time to engage in "spiritual" warfare.      

In my endeavors to Understand the Word Of God, I exhibited a concern  and sought the definition of the purpose of my creation.   The ideology that God just made a man so he would have somebody to give stuff to is not fulfilling. According to Genesis 1:28, God created man for a specific purpose. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  The use of the word subdue is indicative of a type of warfare and the history of man as recorded in the Old Testament shows man engaged in a constant battle against evil.  

Under the dispensation of the Law, this battle was fought flesh against flesh. Beginning with the flood God sought to destroy the corrupted flesh.  Later Kings was instituted whose failed mission was to destroy the sinful flesh.  With the death of Christ on the cross, the dispensation of Grace became in effect.  Under the rules of Grace, the battle moved from a natural level to a spiritual level.  We are no longer called to fight as David fought, yet we are still called to do battle. Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

A noted speaker once defined spiritual warfare as praising God in the midst of adversities.  The problem with this type of definition is that it detracts from the value of praise.  As Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Therefore, we should conclude that our praise should be based upon something that only as Christians who are engaged in spiritual warfare can relate to.  Our praise and thanksgiving should be a personal thing, based upon the battles that God have given us the victory.  Any other aspect of this is trivializing and demeaning to the Word of God. over. 

Ephesians 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  The devil and his angels were cast out upon the earth without  a human or earthly body.  When it is necessary for him to appear in a visible form he must occupy some other mortal form.  There is a spiritual battle taking place all around us, and much of the Christian world has been lured into a sense of complacency and distracted.  Rather than focusing on the powers that surround us, we are focusing on the entertainment aspects of our mortal existence.  Too many of our preachers and teacher are promoting a feel-good gospel rather than promoting the battle for souls for the kingdom.

We are in the fight of our lives, but you could not tell it by much of our praise and worship.  The music, the songs, the message, have been mixed together to form a highly emotionalized and entertaining presentation that have lulled us into  a false sense of security.  This conflict, however, is very real. Paul places emphasis on the reality of this struggle, stressing that it is both difficult and dangerous. We are encouraged to put on the whole armor of God, this we should if we believe that this spiritual battle is real, difficult, and dangerous. Charles Hodge expressed it like this: “Salvation, however gratuitous, is not to be obtained without great effort” (Ephesians, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1994, p. 210).

This warfare is clearly understood through the devil’s actions throughout history. In the garden of Eden, he brought upon mankind the curse of death. In Bethlehem, he hoped to kill man’s Savior, the baby Jesus.  In the wilderness, he tempted the Lord to abandon his mission, and in the garden of Gethsemane, he hoped betrayal would demoralize and deliver him. On Calvary, he hoped to isolate him, but on the resurrection morning, the devil’s head was stomped, and his days are numbered. Paul encourages us to put on the armor of God, and Satan cannot defeat us (Ephesians. 5:13; 1 John. 5:18), for our great God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ has already proved himself victorious, having conquered him who had power over death, that is the devil (Hebrews. 2:14). Christ Jesus has the keys of death and hades (Revelation. 1:18). 

As we fight against the corruption of the devil, let us encourage other through our testimony of praise, of the victories we have won. Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.