“On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” Joshua 6:4-5
At the sound of a joyful heart praising the Holy Name of Jesus, all the walls tumble down, the demons flee and the very gates of hell shake. There is power in the Name of Jesus and when a soul exclaims it’s praise to Jesus, nothing can stand before it.
“at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11
When you lift up your arms and voice in praise, have you ever felt tingles, become lost in the song or find yourself forgetting your problems (even for the moment)? This is the power of praise being activated in your life.
I love to praise. I prayed God show me my spiritual gifts and He opened my heart to see one of my most powerful gifts is the Gift of Praise. From the first men’s conference I attended and the first Emmaus retreat, I have felt my heart and soul lifted in these moments of joy. To be honest, even before I knew God, back when I was a teenager who was pursuing fun and self, God planted praise into my heart. I was drawn by friends to, let’s just say, not very God centered music. Music that I didn’t realize at the time was demonic in nature and in many instances praising Satan. But, God showed me an 80’s metal band called Stryper. They played the style of music big at the time, big guitar riffs and loud big stage music. But, all of their songs were Christ centered. All their albums displayed “Isaiah 53:5” on their cover. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”
They sang songs like, “To Hell with the Devil”, “Soldiers under command”, and “In God we trust”. And, when I found my faith and came to God, these songs came to mind and the lyrics rang out. God protected me from the evil music with songs of praise before I even realized.
Another great way to praise is to carry to the Sacrament of Confession the burdens of sin that Satan has tried to pile onto your shoulder. Approaching Jesus in trust of His Divine Mercy sings out to the ends of Heaven and earth and below the earth of the great power of Mercy. Divine Mercy destroys the hold of sin upon your soul. The gates of hell which are built upon a foundation of sin are broken at Divine Mercy’s trumpet blast.
“When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell.” Divine Mercy in my soul # 378
Armor yourself in praise. Join Praise Nation on Saturday October 17, 2020 at 5:30PM for an evening of praise and joy under the stars. Praise Nation presents ‘Coming Home’ Festival of Praise in the parking lot of St. Albert the Great in Pittsburgh, PA. Weather permitting. We are offering Praise to our Lord with songs you’ll know as well as the premier of a new Praise Nation song, written by Joe Jacobs – “The Master”. There is also prayer offered through the evening.