2 Chronicles 20:17

‘ Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you’

DAILY READING –   – Mark 15:1-20; 1 Kings 10; Hosea 11:12-12:14

On the morning of February 8, 2006, when Jameel McGee left his home and headed to the grocery store to buy some food, he had no idea he would not be seeing his home again for the next four years.  When he came out of the grocery store, he was accosted by a policeman Andrew Collins, who  walked up to him and accused Jameel of being a drug dealer. And to his shock the policeman proceeded to arrest him. Andrew  later wrote false claims that indicted Jameel of drug offences and led to his imprisonment.

In prison, Jameel wrote many appeals to the court, declaring his innocence , but each appeal was turned down. He was getting discouraged and frustrated but decided to turn to God for help. He held on to the scripture in 2 Chronicles 20, that assured him the battle was not his, but God’s.” And when he surrendered to God to fight his battles, God put into motion a series of miracles that exposed the false accusations of Andrew Collins and led to Jameel’s release. And in a very strange way, God later transformed Andrew, and brought him together with Jameel. And today, both men are friends and have written a book titled ‘Convicted’, which talks about God’s love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

It was true Jameel’s situation was bad but when he decided to turn the battle over to God he got speedy release from captivity. Indeed praise works wonders,

It doesn’t matter the situation you find yourself as long as you glorify God He will cause all things to work together for your good.

In 2 Chronicles 20, God instructed Jehoshaphat not to fight but to engage in praise warfare. As he obeyed, God set ‘ambushment’ against his enemies and they were all smitten.

Likewise in Joshua 6:20, it was a combination of a ‘long blast’ trumpet and a ‘long blast’ shout of praise as instructed by God, that brought down the wall of Jericho

Also praise was the weapon used by Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25. Though they prayed but at the instance of their praise, the foundation of the prison shook because of God’s presence in their midst and their liberty was established.

Furthermore, it takes praise for us to see prophecies fully fulfilled. Abraham got his miracle son, because he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform (Romans 4:20-21).

Though God had promised Abraham a son, yet Abraham had to war with the prophesy. Therefore to see a manifestation of this year’s prophesied glory, we must be ready to do battle. Prophesies do not fulfill themselves we war with them to see a fulfillment. And one way to enforce our harvest and experience a forceful turnaround, is to switch to praise. Especially this year, we must decide to give God glory in every situation.

When you learn to give God praise in the midst of your battles, your victory is sure. It doesn’t matter how big that obstacle is, you and God are a majority. He will always cause you to triumph!  If you’ll dig your heels in and refuse to complain but rather, offer up a sacrifice of praise, God will show up for your rescue.

When we turn up our praise, like Jehoshaphat we are going to  see the enemies of our destiny destroyed;  Like Joshua, every wall of Jericho resisting our progress, will come tumbling down; and like Paul and Silas every prison door will break open and we will walk into liberty.

Indeed God works wonders in praise. Therefore let us give Him worthy praise today and watch him take over our battles and  give us the victory .

PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for taking over my battles. I know that as I continue to praise You this year, You will give me a change of story and turn around every captivity in my life in Jesus name.

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To get into the next level of your life, God will always give a specific instruction. – WORDBITE 222.