Prayer

220 is a ministry fueled by radical prayer. Every night of the week, leaders meet to seek the heart of God and to cry out for the lost. We want to provide messages, testimonies and resources that will help you draw closer to the Lord and encourage you to spend more time with Him.

Praise & Victory

Let us look at 2 Chronicles 20:20-22.

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

"Praise the LORD,
For His mercy endures forever."

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

Here was a battle. The nation of Judah was coming to an end at the time of Jehoshaphat's rule. It was very weak; everything was in a state of shambles. The Moabites, Ammonites, and the people of Mount Seir came to invade Judah. Judah was completely in despair; they felt that defeat was certain. Jehoshaphat was a revived king and a God-fearing person. Of course, none of the last kings of Judah was perfect, but nevertheless, Jehoshaphat was a person seeking after God. He told Judah to believe in God. What did he do? He appointed singers to sing praises to Jehovah. He also asked these ones to praise the beauty of holiness and to walk out before the army and to say, "Praise the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever." Please note the words when they began in the following verse. It is a very precious word. "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir." When they began means at that very moment. When everyone was singing praises to Jehovah, He rose to smite the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir. Nothing moves the Lord's hand as quickly as praise. Prayer is not the fastest way to move the Lord's hand; praise is the fastest way. Please do not misunderstand that we do not have to pray. We need to pray, and we need to pray every day. However, we can overcome many things only by praising.

New believers should not think that they have to pass through many years before they can learn the lesson of praise. They should realize that they can start praising immediately. Every time you encounter a problem, you should pray for mercy that you would stop manipulating and plotting and that you would learn the lesson of praising instead. Much warfare can be won by praise. Many battles are lost because of the lack of praise. If you believe in God, you can tell the Lord in the midst of your problems, "I praise Your name. You are higher than everything. You are stronger than everything. Your lovingkindness endures forever!" A person who praises God transcends everything. He overcomes continually by his praise. This is a principle, and this is also a fact.

Excerpt from Praise by Watchman Nee