Day 21: Praise Precedes the Victory

Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.” And so when the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down…

Joshua 6:16,20

Because of the victory that Jesus Christ accomplished via the cross on our behalf, Christ-believers ought to be rejoicing. Paul, when writing to the Philippians (4:4) wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Sadly, that’s not the norm. Instead of praising and worshipping Him, and thanking Him for all that He has done in our lives, we usually tend to focus on the bad and negative things that’s happening in the world.

Unfortunately, Christ-believers are acting the same way with those without God. There’s really no key difference – if the unbelievers of the world are panicky, fearful and anxious, Christ-believers are also doing the same. That should not be the case! Christ-believers need to be rooted, that our God is working behind the scenes, with our best interest in mind, to get us through any trouble or concern. Thus, we need to be rejoicing, praising, worshipping and thanking Him while in the midst of any situation.

In the story of Joshua and the Israelites, prior to them conquering and entering the promised land, they were told to encircle the city of Jericho for seven days. And on the seventh day, with the worshippers up in front of the pack with their trumpets, and after encircling the city the last time, altogether, they shouted and immediately the walls fell down. That was their form of combat, praise and worship caused the enemy to be destroyed! It was effective to defeat the enemy back then; it is still effective for any and all enemies we are facing right now.

As we end the #21daysofspiritualwarfare, we are transitioning to the next 21-Day Challenge – this time on Praise and Worship #21daysofpraiseandworship. What this means, for the next series in our 21-day challenge, we will be assisting  you in the journey of rejoicing and praising God for all the things that He’s working in us, on us and with us. We’re also leading you in a daily-devotional format in worshiping and thanking Jesus for His once-and-for-all sacrifice, death and resurrection, a free-gift He’s provided on our behalf – so that today, His victory is ours!

For today, let us use Psalm 136 as we pray, give thanks and worship God for His goodness and mercy!

Prayer for Today:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:

To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.

Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.

Faith in Action:

1) Know that God is for you! Believe that He has your best interest, despite all the things happening around you. And in the midst of the troubles, praise Him and worship Him, knowing that praise precedes the victory:

God, thank you – for you are good and your mercy endures forever!

2) Invite other Christ-believers to do the 21-Day Challenge. Let us build an army of well-abled and spiritually-ready soldiers in this battle. The more spiritual soldiers we have, the faster the victory manifests in the physical realm.  #21daystovictory

3) Come back every day, be refreshed and motivated, in a community of like-minded Christ-believers. Share your experiences and testimonies with others, as we win this fight!