Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves
in them. (Psalm 69:34 ESV)
I have written before that I once heard a pastor preach that praise of
the Lord creates an atmosphere the adversary cannot move through. If
you think about this, it makes sense.
Certainly, scripture says that if we resist the devil he will flee from
us. (James 4:7) I consider praise the best resistance to that evil foe
the LORD has given us. It’s kind of like the best defense being a good
offense.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—
and shudder! (James 2:19 ESV)
Now, if my praise of the Lord and His oneness, His almighty majesty, His
power, His love, and His holiness can make demons shudder, I’m all for
it! All the better if those demons flee from me!
And what better way to praise the Lord than praising His Son, Jesus,
whose very presence tormented the demons:
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean
spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the
Holy One of God.” (Mark 1:22-24 ESV)
Indeed, Jesus was and is the fulfillment of God’s plan from the very
beginning, ever since the fall of man.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will
strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 NIV)
I have found when I’m in between mountaintops (And how can one get
from one mountaintop to another without crossing through a valley?)
or I am tired, or I feel some illness coming on, or am confused and don’t
know what to do, or I am tempted by some sin, or I start worrying about
something that probably isn’t going to happen anyway, praising God
through Jesus makes things so much better.
Sometimes, all it takes is saying “Jesus is LORD” out loud.
The hard part is catching myself before the depression, or fatigue, or
illness, or confusion, or temptation, or worry gets out of control.
Somebody ought to put the phrase on a big sign somewhere to remind
everybody how powerful that simple statement of praise is in our lives.
Today’s Praise
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit
of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is
Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV)