Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 2 Chronicles 20:18-19.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I give you opportunities to have good days filled with good things, which include healing and good health. The world, the flesh and the devil give you opportunities to have bad days filled with bad things, including illness and bad health. The choice is up to you and it is in the power of your thoughts and your words. The reason I live in beauty, majesty and splendor is that I am love and I think in love, talk in love, and walk in love.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love. Ephesians 5:1-2.
I do not get offended and I am happy to serve you as My precious family whom I love. Parents look after their children and so I look after you. Cast your cares on Me because I care for you and all things will turn out well.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19.
Seek My Kingdom first and My way of righteousness and all will be added to you so that you have all sufficiency until you overflow and have an abundance for every good work.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing. Psalm 34:10.
I gave My Son for you and He did not come to be served but to serve, to give His life as your ransom to Me so that sin would no longer be there between us. Your sins and offenses I remember no more for He took them all and carried them away, along with all your ills and pains. The burden was too heavy for you so I loaded it on His shoulders and He took the punishment and released you.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. Psalm 34:22.
Sin is never a happy memory. Your past sins and even present ones do not make you happy and free. If you want a life of wonderful memories and filled with good days, I do tell you what to do to have such a life. It is all in Psalm 34, the key of David.
Who is the man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:12-13.
Be very careful about grumbling and complaining, I call that evil speech.
The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you.” Numbers 14:26-28.
In fact, I told the Israelites this continual grumbling and complaining, this lack of rejoicing in the good things I showered them with (which they disdained, even the Manna), would lead to them losing all they had to the enemy and he would have easy access to destroy them. Deuteronomy 2847-:48.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life. Philippians 2: 14-16.
In fact, the word for grumbling in Hebrew is “luwn (לוּן),” which literally means to lodge, pass the night, abide, i.e., “spend the night there.” This explains to you that if you persist in grumbling about things you will be stuck there in the dark.
What is the answer? Praise for redemption, praise for the answers, praise for provision, praise for salvation.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. Psalm 30:11-12.
Praise can set you free.
To comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:2-3.
If you want healing and good days, start here: Put on the garment of praise, put on the sweetness of love, put on Christ and sing unto Me, and I will set you free.
Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel in Philippi and Paul cast a demon out of a servant girl who was telling fortunes and her masters were making profit from that demon spirit in her. They had Paul and Silas led before the magistrates and testified falsely about them and had Paul and Silas struck with many blows and threw them into prison where there were put in the inner prison with their feet fastened in the stocks. Acts 16:19-24. But Paul and Silas knew what to do and it was not grumbling and taking offense what had been done to them. They put in the key of David.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
A miracle came with the voice of praise and thanksgiving and that miracle began the church in Philippi. Not one prisoner left the prison though the gates were open and the chains released, there was too much glory, I come and dwell in the praises of My people.
And what happened to the jailer who was not a believer and had not been listening to the preaching of Paul and Silas as they went through the city. But now the jailer asked them what he had to do to be saved like he saw they were. And they had the answer, lights in the darkness they held out the Word:
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the Word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household. Acts 16:31-34.
The rejoicing of Paul and Silas in that dark place brought in the light and gave the jailer the first true joy he had ever known and even though none of his circumstances had changed, he was still a jailer in that dark prison but now he was rejoicing in so great a Salvation.
Praise is a weapon that brings down the enemy. It is greater than the atomic bomb. And one person alone in his or her room can throw it and change their world. It makes you into an overcomer.
It has to do with the voice of thanksgiving. It is the greatest force in the world.
When you have taken My Word and made a declaration for whatever it is you are seeking, whether it is healing, finances, authority over a plague, an abusive situation, deliverance, a relationship, or relief from any form of trouble or affliction, what is the next thing you do? Start praising Me for the result. Praise stills the avenger and the enemy. Whatever has to do with the curse of the law you can praise it out of you. Because praise and thanksgiving is the way to stand on My promise and not draw back. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done My Will (declared My Word and obeyed it), you may receive what was promised. My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But you are not of those who shrinks back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Praise and thanksgiving in the midst of a trial are the positive proof of faith. You are expecting Me to perform My Word and it gives you joy for a good outcome.
Praise will stop the enemy. Psalm 8:2.
You can praise a sickness out of your body or any other result you have My promise on. Remember Psalm 103? It all starts with praise: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and ALL that is within Me bless His Holy Name.” Even your innermost parts can bless Me. Your bones can rejoice! Your heart can sing. And blessed are your eyes and ears that see and hear My Words and voice. And what results? I forgive all your sins, heal all your ills, pull you out of the pit, surround you with love and compassion, and fill your days with good things so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. That is shouting ground. And when the joyful shout goes up, the walls come down, chains fall off, and prison gates swing open. And when thanksgiving goes up, loaves and fish multiply and feed multitudes.
Praise and strength are one in the same. The more you praise Me and My Word the stronger you become, the more joy you have, and you can overcome any obstacle. You encourage yourself in a difficult situation by praise and thanksgiving for My love that endures forever and will deliver you. It is the voice of thanksgiving that brings wonders to pass. Praise will take down the enemy. Nuclear power.
You read in Psalm 8: “From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.” Psalm 8:2. Jesus later quoted that Psalm to the Pharisees, but He quoted it as “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established praise.” Matthew 21:16. Do you see that it is out of their mouths? It is their words that are the weapon that makes the enemy and the avenger cease. And even a weak baby can do it. I did not say a brave and strong warrior. I said a nursing baby! In other words, an insignificant person that seems to have no power can do it. Even a new believer who is still only on the milk of the Word and not the meat. If I can get them to speak praise of My promise, down goes the enemy.
Even if you are in the worst storm of your life, if you come out and praise you are in the spotlight of My love. Center stage. No longer the sidelines but the center of the battle. And I will fight the battle for you. All you have to do is stand on My Word in praise and thanksgiving.
If you are still skeptical, let Me show you the voice of thanksgiving and the wonders that follow it. If you recall, I showed you what the voice of thanksgiving is in the story of the ten lepers. Only one was made entirely whole, not just cleansed but also restored from all the damage of the disease. Why? The power of praise as expressed by the voice of thanksgiving. Remember? The one who returned to give thanks to Jesus, fell prostrate at His feet and worshipped in thanksgiving and he praised My glory in a LOUD (megas in Greek, like a megaphone) voice.
Now I am going to take you to the story of Jehoshaphat and the three attacking armies. 2 Chronicles 20. You may think you know this story well, but if are not able to discern the voice of thanksgiving and the atomic bomb of praise, you do not know it at all.
This incident opens with three nations joining their armed forces together to conquer and take Jerusalem captive. The king called the people of Judah to My house (My temple) and they prayed to Me for deliverance. They declared My power and might and My ability to deliver them. And they concluded: “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
Keep your eyes on Me, not on the problem. Then fear will turn to faith.
Then I put My Spirit on a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph and he delivered My Word to them. Do you remember Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman and their sons and daughters that David appointed to sing praises before Me in My house 24/7? 1 Chronicles 25. The power of praise and thanksgiving kept any army from defeating Judah and Israel while David was king.
Well, the Word I gave the Levite was as follows: “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17. Now, they had My Word to them, a promise of victory. Nothing in their circumstances had changed yet, but they had My Word to stand on.
And how did Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah respond? With the voice of thanksgiving: Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to PRAISE the LORD God of Israel, with a VERY LOUD VOICE.” 2 Chronicles 20:18-19. Here you see it again, just like the leper who was cleansed and then made whole: they fell to the ground in thankful worship, overwhelmed with My goodness, and then they stood up to offer praise in a very loud voice.
And they marched out to face the enemy in a very unique way, they marched forward with the choir on the front in holy attire (in the beauty of holiness) loudly singing praise and thanksgiving. And what was their repeated refrain? “Give thanks to the LORD, His love (“chesed”) endures forever.”
And the minute they started singing praise in the face of the enemy, a wonder took place. When they began singing and praising, I set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and NO ONE HAD ESCAPED. 2 Chronicles 20:22-24. The entire enemy force had gone down. It was like a nuclear bomb, no one escaped. The praise goes up and the victory comes down. Once you have prayed, found your Word to stand on, and cast the care on Me, all there is left to do before you see the result manifest is praise and give thanks.
So what were the steps? And you should do these too if you are under attack of the devil:
- Pray and seek My face with all diligence. Focus on Me alone.
- Receive the Word and run with it. Welcome the Word implanted with its power to save.
- Fall down in worship and give full attention to My Word and power with gratitude.
- Take a stand and shout and sing praise of My glory in a VERY LOUD voice.
And watch results come. Remember, a weakling, a mere baby, by speaking praise can make the enemy and the avenger cease. And in the case of Jehoshaphat, I not only routed the enemy, I then gave them so much spoil that it took three blessed days to gather all the good things the enemy had left behind.
So what do you do when facing a problem, no matter how big or how little? Pray, get the Word that gives you an answer, fall to the ground in worship, stand up and shout and sing praise and thanksgiving, and keep praising till you get the desired result of My promise. And when it comes to pass, be ready to collect your reward. The wonder will follow the voice of thanksgiving just as thunder comes after the lightning.
Praise with the voice of thanksgiving is the most powerful weapon on earth. You will note that when Judah stood up and used it, not one of the enemies escaped. 2 Chronicles 20:24. They all fell to the ground and ceased their attack of My people who praised and thanked Me before they saw the promised victory.
I love you. When the enemy comes in, rout him out with a shout of victory. And as you read My Word look for the voice of thanksgiving and you will begin to recognize it. Leviticus 9:24. And soon you will be applying it in your life so your joy can be full.