Worship, my weapon of choice

We are warriors engaged in spiritual warfare, pushing back darkness with the light of Jesus. Worship equips us to war against evil with the power and presence of God Almighty.

For a person with zero musical gifting, I may seem an unlikely advocate for worship. I can’t sing, play an instrument, or even clap on beat. While I have always enjoyed corporate worship on Sundays, worship hasn’t been an integral part of my daily life until recently. It started with my kids. I began noticing how the atmosphere of my home would shift when I played worship videos for my toddlers. There was a palpable increase of joy. There was a decrease in tension and chaos. We started using kids worship videos like weapons to fight back against spirits of chaos, frustration, and disobedience in our home.

You see, worship has this unique power to shift atmospheres. I love the example shared in Acts 16, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” Worship ushered in this unbelievable invasion of power to literally break chains! As Paul and Silas worshipped not only physical chains were broken but spiritual ones as the jailer and his entire family got saved. Worship changed the atmosphere in the prison that night and in the jailer’s home forever.

There are a host of weapons we can choose from to fight back against the schemes of the enemy to “kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10). But worship has become my weapon of choice because it changes me as much as it changes my circumstances. Worship is the tool that most effectively shifts my skewed thinking and restores heavenly perspective. Worship brings believers into alignment with the King, renewing our minds, sharpening our focus, filling us with courage, and honing in our ability to hear and heed the Spirit. In Colossians 3:16 Paul encourages us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” He writes that worship is one of the primary mechanisms allowing truth to dwell richly in our lives.

There’s a worship song by Upper Room called “This is How I Fight my Battles” and one of the lines in it says, “It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You.” Worship surrounds us with truth and presence. God isn’t an egotist in need of our affirmation but He is keenly aware of how worship will change and empower us to walk in our true identities. We are conquerors - victors not victims - and worship calls out who God is and in turn who He has made us to be. In Psalm 86 David writes, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.” It is the heart of God for us to see Him for who He truly is, and when we do the only natural response to the kind of revelation is worship. King David got this. He was a worshipper who found Himself changed in the presence of God as He worshipped Him in sprit and in truth. When we look to God and sing of His goodness, we are changed and His power flows through us to cast mountains in the the sea, part waters, calm storms, and heal diseases.