3 Powerful Ways Heroes in the Bible Used Worship as a Weapon

Every one of the heroes in the Bible were worshippers who had a lifestyle built around the Words of God, the praise and worship of God, sacrifice, obedience, humility and reverence of God, and regular prayer and communion with God. It was these vital points of connection that kept them strong in the worst times of their lives and it is no different today.

If you are in a battle season or under heavy assault from the enemy, worship is a spiritual weapon that will not only strengthen you from within, but will drive the enemy away.

Even if the situation you’re stuck in is affecting everything in the natural, it is still a spiritual battle before it is anything else, and as much as you’ll need natural defenses, you’ll need spiritual weapons and defenses as well. (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, no! They carried their weapons on them, and being strong in the Lord is the same principle. When the enemy attacks (and he will!), you must be ready to fight and defend.

The Heroes in the Bible Fought with Faith

The “enemies”, trials and tribulations that come against you in life may be there because of something you did, or because of something the enemy is trying to do or because this world is filled with sin, but regardless, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord is there to fight for you and with you.

But you are His point of contact on earth. YOU are what Jesus meant when He said “…Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” He was inviting the Lord to use Him! (Matt. 6:10) Heroes in the Bible that won such powerful victories did the same thing – they became the primary weapon that Lord could wield by remaining connected with Him above all else in worship, prayer and faith in the Lord.

3 Ways Worship was a Weapon for Heroes in the Bible

1. The joy of the Lord was their strength

Heroes in the Bible 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 wrote these words:

“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)

Pushing past your flesh to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God is the secret to victory in the spirit! Worship is always the right response because it is an act of gratitude. You can’t read your Bible thankfully and while you can pray and say ‘thank you’ to God, 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 it is you need saving from!

Worship becomes a weapon of war against the enemy when you step away from who you are and what you’re going through and step into the presence of God!

~Alicia Purdy

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.” When you praise the Lord in the darkness of your night season, as the heroes in the Bible did, you become an effective weapon against the enemy and grow strong for battle.

2. They praised the goodness of God amid the evils of the world

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 everyone’s 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, get back to basics. Start praising Him for the little things, thanking Him for whatever He brings to your mind. 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, and 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 Moses’ 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)

You will have a song in the night season, and a new song for each new “night” you experience, but the altar? That is for your remembrance. Just like you’ve read about how heroes in the Bible took the time to build an altar to the Lord in order to worship and praise Him, someday the altar you’ve built in your memory of what God is doing for you today will be your point of origin to guide you through the next storm, and your testimony will guide someone else!

Worship becomes a weapon of war against the enemy when you step away from who you are and what you’re going through in order to step into the presence of God.

It’s the same perspective that 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: Heroes in the Bible Pursued Exaltation, not Escape

One of the ways to stir your faith 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 – knowing He’ll come through again. The Lord has no enemies, but you do. “By this I know that You favor me, because my enemy does not triumph over me,” David wrote. (Psalm 41:11)

Satan cannot defeat you without your permission. It may be a mighty battle, but if you persist in the spirit and you don’t give up, you WILL win because the Lord of Heavens Armies (Isaiah 8:13) will fight alongside you! 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! Don’t let him win! Praise the Lord with thanksgiving through it all, and you’ll find the strength to persevere!

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!

Stir up your faith in the Lord like heroes in the Bible and find your song in the night: “Why David’s Victory Over the Lion and Bear had to Come Before He Faced the Giant”

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Way of the Worshipper on Amazon – and AVAILABLE NOW you can also purchase The Way of the Worshipper: A Devotional Workbook for deeper study, personal examination and spiritual growth!