3 Ways Heroes in the Bible Found Victory Through Praise
Every one of the heroes in the Bible you ready about were worshippers who had a lifestyle built around the statutes, principles and commandments of God, the praise and worship of God, reverence to God, and regular prayer and communion with God.
It was these vital points of spiritual connection that kept them strong in the worst times of their lives and it is no different today. What can you learn from heroes of faith in the Bible who were just like you in many ways? That God is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
That means you have the exact same level of access to the Lord that all people of faith have to miracles, healing, success, victory, strength and anything else the Lord has promised.
What Does it Mean to be a Hero in the Faith?
Heroes in the Bible are most often noted in Hebrews 11:
- Abel was a worshipper who “a more excellent sacrifice” because he gave his sacrifices and offerings from his heart and not out of obligation.
- Hebrews 11 says Enoch did not see death. That was because he lived in such an intimate fellowship and obedience with the Lord. (Genesis 5:21-24)
- Noah took action on God’s command even though the entire world stood against him.
- In faith, Abraham was willing to sacrifice the thing he loved most, his own son, to honor the Lord.
But there are many more men and women of God in Hebrews 11 and elsewhere in the Bible who have become heroes of the faith for their examples of obedience, sacrifice and worship to the Lord. What do their have in common? They were worshippers.
How Praise Empowers People of Faith
Praise and worship are spiritual weapons that will not only strengthen you from within, but will drive the enemy away. Remember, even if your battle seems to be raging in the natural, it is still a spiritual battle so you’ll need spiritual weapons to fight it. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Heroes in the Bible never had time to run home and grab their weapons if an enemy came against them, or if a lion or bear suddenly appeared, or if everything in their lives went downhill as it did with Job. Their victories were internal before they were external. That’s how praise empowers your faith!
Life can change in an instant, but the name of the Lord is higher than any other name and gratitude is the point of origin for all praise. That thanksgiving starts within your heart. What set apart famous people in the Bible from everyone else was that their hearts were set on the Lord, before they set their eyes on anything else around them.
Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!
Psalm 22:3 says the Lord “dwells within” the praises of His people. Psalm 16:11 says, “in Your presence is fullness of joy”, and Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
A lifestyle of praise keeps your spirit and your faith vibrant as you dwell in God’s presence. God’s Word protects your mind and soul and keeps your faith alive. Prayer keeps your faith strong as you commune with the Lord from your soul.
What set apart famous people in the Bible from everyone else was that their hearts were set on the Lord, before they set their eyes on anything else around them.
~Alicia Purdy
Out of all you can learn from heroes of faith in the Bible, remember this: You need all three – praise, prayer, and the principles of God’s Word to operate in faith as they did.
The Heroes in the Bible Fought with Faith
One of the defining characteristics of all the heroes in the Bible was their worship. They sang songs of worship even in the darkness of their night seasons:
- In Psalm 63, when David was trapped in the wilderness of Judah, he was being pursued by King Saul, who wanted to kill him. As he fled for his life and hid, he said, “I remember You on my bed, and meditate on You in the night watches, because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” (Psalm 63:6-7)
- In Job 1, after Job’s children had died, “He fell to the ground and worshipped. He said… blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:19-21 MEV)
Pushing past your flesh to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God is the secret to victory in the natural and in the spirit! That is when you will see the power of gratitude directed toward God. The actions of heroes in the faith prove that praise is always the right response because the gratitude you minister to the Lord goes beyond your situation.
You don’t worship God because life is good. You worship a good God.
3 Ways Heroes in the Bible Found Victory Through Praise
1. The Joy of the Lord Was Their Strength
Remember Nehemiah 8:10 says that “the joy of the Lord is your strength“, and Psalm 16:11 says that “in His presence is fullness of joy“, and Psalm 22:3 says that “the Lord presence dwells within the praises of His people.”
People of faith in the Bible praised the Lord in their difficult seasons as much as they did in the easy ones. Praise keeps your spirit strong and your faith vital. Don’t wait until you need faith to get faith. It could be too late!
Worship becomes a weapon of war against the enemy when you step away from who you are and what youβre going through and step into the presence of God!
~Alicia Purdy
Worship becomes a weapon of war against the enemy when you step away from who you are and what youβre going through and step into the presence of God! You won’t always have happiness, but you can always have joy.
That’s what set apart the victories of Bible heroes from those who succumbed to life’s trials.
You canβt read your Bible thankfully. You can thank God in your prayers, but He asked for you to worship Him with your gratitude (Psalm 50:23) and in return He promised to show you the way of salvation from whatever troubles come your way!
God doesn’t need your praise, but He does desire it freely from you. That’s how you stay connected to His Spirit. You’re not strong enough, but He is. His joy will be your strength to get through this.
2. They Worshipped a Good God When Life Was Bad
Heroes in the Bible, like the Apostle Paul and Silas, worshipped the Lord even as they experienced the worst of what the world could throw at them. As they sat in prison, Acts 16:25-26 (MEV) says:
“At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyoneβs shackles were loosened.”
What were they worshipping the Lord for when things were so bad? Anything and everything! If you feel like you’ve lost your song and giving thanks to God is just too hard or that you no longer have a reason to worship, offer up a sacrifice of praise.
When you least feel like worshipping, that is the most powerful time to praise and worship the Lord because you are bringing Him a true sacrifice of praise.
That is when walls crumble down and prisoners are set free- even if that prisoner is you!
3. They Built for Themselves an Altar of Remembrance
One of the things heroes in the Bible did after a season of great difficulty was to build an altar. Jeremiah 31:21 (ESV) says, “Set up road markers for yourself; make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went.”
Praise and worship extol the Lord and minister blessing to Him for who He is and for what He has done. You have a testimony of the goodness of God, never let yourself forget it.
When things are at their worst, your testimony will be the lyrics of the songs of gratitude you sing to the Lord.
When He has come through for you, you will praise Him with a new song that will testify to the world that the Lord can be trusted to take care of His people! (Psalm 40:1-3)
- After the year-long flood, Noah built an altar in worship to the Lord. (Genesis 8:20)
- After a terrible battle with Amalek, where Aaron and Hur held up Mosesβ hands in the day of battle, Moses built an altar. (Genesis 17:15)
- After David sinned and God had punished the people for what David did, David repented and built an altar. (2 Samuel 24:24-25)
The Lord has new song for each new βnightβ season you experience, but the altar? That is for your remembrance.
Heroes of Faith in the Bible Prioritized Praise
David is the most well-known Bible hero who was a worshipper. For him, it was more than a lifestyle or a spiritual discipline. It was his lifeline:
- When he needed help, he worshipped. “You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!β (Psalm 70:5)
- When David was sad, he worshipped. “You put my tears in Your bottle and record them in a book…this I know, that God is for me. In God whose word I praise…” Psalm 56:8-10)
- When he was overwhelmed, he worshipped. (Psalm 143:4-6) “…my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart is desolateβ¦ I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. I stretch forth my hands unto You…”
- When David was angry, he worshipped. (Psalm 69) “…may Your wrathful anger overtake my enemies [and] I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.β
- When he had sinned, he worshipped. “Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness…” (Psalm 51)
- When God answered his cry, he worshipped. βI waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me, and heard my cry… may those who love Your salvation say continually, βThe Lord is magnified.’β (Psalm 40:1-3, 16)
Asaph was another worshipper whose raw emotions often permeated his songs. “As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after you,” Asaph wrote. “…why are you downcast, O my soul…?” (Psalm 42)
In Luke 1, Mary worshipped the Lord in faith as many female heroes of the Bible did proving that, first, her response in every situation – even with all the questions she probably had – was to praise the Lord in gratitude:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.” (MEV)
What does it mean to be a hero of faith? You have to get real with God. You can fool others, but God looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
Because worship invites God to come closer within you, the strength that comes from that intimate connection carried heroes in the Bible through to victory. Praise and worship are supernatural acts of power to force yourself past your flesh and into the spirit. It will be your greatest sacrifice- and He will not forget it. (Genesis 22:17)
Thought for today: The Definition of a Hero Looks Different to God than to Man
One of the ways to stir your faith in worship is by remembering the great things the Lord has done for you in the past- those milestones, the altars like heroes in the Bible built to the Lord – believing in faith Heβll come through again.
Worship is the action of faith because it provides the “evidence of things not seen” as the writer of Hebrews 11 said.
Remember that Satan cannot defeat you without your permission.
You may have to wage a mighty battle as many heroes in the Bible had to do, but if you persist in the spirit through prayer, praise and God’s promises, you’ll see victory that starts within you, first.
When life gets hard, Satan will try to suck away your desire to praise. He’ll try to exhaust you on every level because he knows the supernatural power of praise better than any creature in existence.
You have a battle cry- and it is praise!
Giving thanks to God in all circumstances will be one of the greatest emotional, mental and spiritual challenges you’ll ever face, but study examples of heroes in the Bible to encourage your spirit and remember – the battle belongs to the LORD!
