Satan Fears Praise

A mother concerned about her son and his wife recently emailed this request: “God has led me to do a Jericho’ prayer...Would you join with me in “marching around the walls this week? I am fighting this battle with praise!”

She was referring to the time Joshua faced a huge challenge—that insurmountable wall of Jericho. In Joshua 5:13, it appears that Joshua had gone to survey the situation. Taking this city looked impossible.

When Joshua stood in the presence of the Lord, the Lord assured him, “See, I have given Jericho into your hands” (Joshua 6:1). But God’s instructions to march around the city and blow trumpets did not appear to be a sure way to victory. They obeyed, though, and after the Israelites marched around and praised God with a shout, the walls of Jericho fell.

It’s not surprising that the mother who had fought her battle with praise, later emailed, “God has worked mightily.”

The idea of fighting our battles with praise is not new. In 1865, Sabine Baring-Gould wrote “Onward Christian Soldiers.” The third line of the second verse caught my attention:

“At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;

On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!

Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;

Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.”

James assures us that if we “Resist the devil...he will flee” (James 4:7).

Dear Lord, help me to remember that praise is a powerful way to resist the enemy.

I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.