This brief study about the power of singing praise songs gave
me newfound respect for the church choir!
First, in II Chronicles 20, there is a story about King
Jehoshaphat of Judah going up in battle against the tribes of
the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites. Greatly outnumbered,
he fearfully prays for God’s help. The Spirit of the Lord
tells him to send out the choir
("those who praise the Lord in holy attire..." II Chr.
20:21) ahead of the army into battle!
Read what happened:
"When they began singing and praising, the Lord set
ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had
come against Judah; so they were routed...For the sons of Ammon
and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying
{them} completely; and when they had finished with the
inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another."
(II Chr. 20:23-24)
Second, in Acts 16, we read about how when Paul and Silas
began to sing while shackled in a prison cell, there was a
great earthquake that set them free.
"But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening
to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the
foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all
the doors were opened and everyone's chains were
unfastened." (Acts 16:25-26)
Thus, we can see two things that come from singing praises to
the Lord:
1) The enemy is confused, resulting in miraculous victory.
2) God's power is manifest, resulting in freedom.
Sometimes, it seems people just go through the motions when
they are singing in church, but we are talking about God's
power manifest here! Everyone should take advantage of the
opportunity to sing together in an assembly of other believers.
The only thing is, if you commit yourself to going “all
out” in praise and worship, you’d better be ready for
the results…an earth-shattering event could ensue!