Today, we are starting to witness at a larger scale what Jesus had predicted 2,000 years ago in Matthew 24:1-31. The wars, famines, earthquakes in various places are here. They are the beginning of the birth pain, of something much greater that is to come. Behind these cataclysmic events are the hateful invisible powers of darkness that are continually plotting to divide and conquer us by killing, stealing and destroying every image bearer of God. 

When a war broke out in a neighboring country where I serve, I was immediately gripped with fear that my fate would soon become the same as that of the people who had been raped, killed, or kidnapped. I cried, panicked and could not stop imagining worst case scenarios. On top of that, I kept talking to people at work who were either saddened or angry by the war and I kept going down the pit of fear and depression. 

One day, I talked to my close friend Kristina about how saddened and distressed I was about the war. I’m not too sure if I was expecting a listening ear or for her to wallow in the puddle of despair I was in, but her response completely took me by surprise. She said: “Please turn your sadness into worship and interceding.” It caught me off guard, but it freed me. Her words were so liberating and so simple that I felt as if I had just suddenly woken up from a horrible nightmare. 

Her words provided such an aha moment that I thanked her and immediately repented to the Lord for having allowed the news and the war next door to paralyze me with fear and poison me with a spirit of murmuring and grumbling, but I did what she suggested. I put a worship song and lifted my voice to praise the Lord. I did so for quite a while and in the end the dark shadows of fear and depression that had been squatting in my home disappeared. The atmosphere suddenly changed and it was now filled with peace. My mind and heart were now settled.

It’s incredible how praise and worship can influence the spiritual realm. I not only experienced it, but the Word of God is replete of those instances. In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, we read of David who is summoned to go play the lyre for King Saul who is tormented by an evil spirit and it says in verse 23 that: “Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”  

Another example we have in scripture where praise and worship dismantle the enemy’s camp is found in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. When a vast army came to fight against King Jehoshaphat, he proclaimed a fast in Judah, turned to God for direction and interceded for their deliverance. He received the clear instruction to face their enemy and in verse 21 we read: “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.’ As they sang and praised the Lord, God set an ambush against the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir and in confusion they started fighting among themselves killing one another.” 

These examples from the scriptures are very encouraging. May we not forget that praising and worshipping our Lord in the midst of uncertain circumstances is one of our weapons of spiritual warfare. In the midst of our circumstances, when we sing and praise our mighty God, the enemy will flee and our God will fight on our behalf by sending confusion back into the enemy’s camp.