Monday Open Heavens Devotional - Genuine Praise And Worship: A Path To Victory

MEMORISE: And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 2 CHRONICLES 20:22.

READ: 2 CHRONICLES 20:21-23.
21.And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22.And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23.For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

MESSAGE
The issue of praise and worship cannot be overemphasized. As a matter of fact, the primary reason God created man was that man should praise and worship Him. “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelations 4 : 10 - 11.

Despite the fact that we are created for the purpose of praising and worshipping God, the Lord still provides great benefits for us as we go about doing what we must do to fulfil the purpose of our creation. One of these benefits is the victory that God gives to us when we sing His praises, as is recorded in our Bible reading for today.

When Judah began to sing the praise of God, the Lord arose and fought on their behalf. We have read this passage so often that we seem to have lost both its significance and implication. Ordinarily, the people of Judah would have found it difficult to do what their king asked them to do considering the impending doom of war. How many of us can sing the praises of God in the presence of danger or attack? At such times, instead of singing the praises of God we begin to query God, as if our righteousness is good enough to make us immune to the attacks of both spiritual and physical enemies. It is easier read than practiced, but only its practice can bring us blessings, not our reading about it.

Another thing we must learn in today’s reading is that the Bible says, ”he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness…” It is not all praise and worship that is genuine and acceptable unto the Lord; some are unto the flesh. I have often told my children in the faith that they should be mindful of the type of songs they sing in the name of praise or worship. Some of these songs are from the pit of hell, coated in Christian lyrics. Any song, dance, drama or general work of art that promotes promiscuity is abominable in the sight of God and will do the opposite of genuine songs of praise and worship. Our songs should come from a pure heart; its presentation should also be void of pride and ulterior motive. It is unfortunate that some so-called songs of praise and worship are the importation of songs from idol worship. They are melodious, so we embrace them without knowing the implication.
From today, let us allow the Holy Spirit to give us songs that the Trinity will appreciate, and let us sing to the beauty of God’s holiness for irreversible victory over our adversaries.

ACTION POINT: Pray that the Holy Spirit should give you angelic songs from God’s throne so that when you sing here on earth, they will join you to sing “holy, holy, holy” unto the captain of life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 2:26-4:31 AND JOB 1:20-2:6.