“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
There’s a battle raging within all of us for control over our minds. It is a spiritual principle that where the mind and heart go, the life follows (Proverbs 4:23). The Word tells us that as we think in our hearts, so we are (Proverbs 23:7). Believers who trust in Christ have turned from a life of open sin and closed the most obvious doors to the enemy. Unfortunately, they are often unaware that they need to be consistently aware of the great need to renew the mind.
The enemy leverages this neglect and attempts to infiltrate our minds. The symptoms of this assault manifest as worry, anxiety, fear, confusion and insomnia in our lives. Our minds are means, or tools, by which the enemy works out his agenda of destruction.
Thankfully, God has not left us powerless; He has given us the weapons of warfare that are powerful for pulling down every enemy stronghold in our minds (2 Corinthians 10:4). The first weapon we usually learn to wield is the weapon of prayer:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Do you need a shield around your mind? Pray! Do you need peace that guards against worry, anxiety and confusion? Pray! Prayer is a powerful spiritual weapon that produces God’s peace around your mind and heart.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
But a second and also fundamental weapon of spiritual warfare is found in Philippians 4:4. Here the Apostle Paul instructs believers to rejoice in the Lord, always.Why?Praise is an important component of our prayer-life.
Prayer Rolls the Burden on God
Don’t just pray, pray and rejoice. Pray and give thanks to God.
Prayer is powerful. Prayer can move mountains, alter your circ*mstances. Prayer can write your history before it happens. Prayer is how we cast our cares upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). It’s God’s instruction for how we are to take the pressure, worry, and anxiety of modern life and circ*mstances off of our shoulders.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Thank God, it means we don’t have to carry our own burdens! But have you ever noticed that we have a tendency to put the burden on God in prayer, but then take it back and try to carry it ourselves again?
Here you go, Lord. It’s yours… no sorry, not yet. It’s mine. Okay, it’s yours… nope, mine! Am I the only one who ever does that?
Praise Keeps It in God’s Hands
While prayer casts our cares on God, praise will keep us from trying to take it back. When we praise God, it is a reminder of the eternal promises of God, and His goodness, faithfulness and love toward us, who are in Christ.
Whenever the enemy tries to assault your mind, and convince you that you need to take back your cares, begin to praise God for all that he has brought you through and for His protection and care. Lifting our hands upward in praise toward God affirms and physically demonstrates our mental decision to not grasp our cares again.
It’s not just prayer alone that produces a mind-protecting peace; it’s prayer and praise!
Paul and Silas’ Uncommon Peace
Paul and Silas had gone to Philippi, a city where they thought they could stay for while and plant some deep, spiritual roots. Paul was preaching and seeing people responding, and the gospel was going out and touching hearts. One day a slave girl who was an “oracle,” or what we would call a psychic, began to follow behind them crying out, “These men are servants of the Supreme God announcing the way of salvation!”
Paul realized that even though her words were correct, she was demon possessed and it’s likely her masters had sent her to distract and confuse people from the pure Gospel. Paul turned and cast the evil spirit out of her. When she came into her right mind, her masters could longer make money off of her divinations. Needless to say, they were not happy.
“And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, ‘These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.’Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:20-24).
Paul and Silas lay in that inner prison, bound in chains, backs bruised and bleeding, in a place where the prison guards could torture the prisoners without witnesses.
This wasn’t prison like we have today. There was no heat in the winter, and no air conditioning in the summer. There were no amenities like three square meals a day, a work out room and scheduled recreation time. It was cruel and horrendous, and many prisoners died in custody.
After finding themselves in this situation, Paul and Silas could have had a crisis of faith, thinking… We preached the gospel and got beaten for it. We did what God told us. We thought we were coming to Philippi to start a church, and instead we have wound up in prison, and possibly dying…
They may have been tempted to feel disappointed, questioning their commitment to Christ. Maybe they considered a retreat, if they ever made it out. Fear attacking their faith. Doubt shouting in a deafening voice.
The Power of Prayer and Praise
Sometimes we think our Bible greats were somehow superhuman, but the fact is, they were human, just like us. But unlike most of us, Paul and Silas ignored the demonic assault to their minds, and instead turned to God in worship.
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).
They prayed and sang hymns – they prayed and they praised – in a public demonstration of their faith and trust in God, in the midst of dire circ*mstances.
Even when their minds were under assault, when what they were going through didn’t make sense, when they were tempted to throw in the towel on their faith, they said we will not allow the enemy to have control of our minds. We will fight back with the powerful spiritual weapons of prayer and praise.
And God responded with a great earthquake, so strong the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed (Acts 16:26)!
Prayer and praise! This is how we make war: our hands and voices lifted high! This is how we defeat evil schemes: with heads bowed in prayer, and feet dancing in joyful worship.
And when we praise, we are declaring the power, authority, and victory belongs to the King of Glory. That means once we cast our cares on Him in prayer, we will keep on praising Him and will never take those burdens back! Because if He could handle our sin burden at the cross, He can handle it all.
The Power of Midnight Praise
Have you ever noticed how everything gets more intense at midnight?
Worries become heightened. Problems become more complex. Faith gets weaker, and doubt gets stronger. The enemy’s voice gets louder, and the imaginations in the mind get bleaker and more vivid.
It seems like the enemy moves most in the cover of darkness. But “midnight” praise is really a metaphor for when we worship God even when we are especially under siege. It’s a season of life when it looks like it’s over, hope is gone, and the evidence is overwhelmingly against you.
But all is not lost! When we put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3) during our darkest moments, it is a powerful spiritual weapon that can help us stay in faith.Notice again when Paul and Silas praised God… at the midnight hour.
In other words, they praised Him when things were at their worst, before there was any shred of evidence that things would get better. They were still in chains, still cold and hungry, still dealing with rats and smells, and they praised anyway. I call that a midnight praise, or a faithpraise, because faith always comes first!
Midnight praise comes before our miracles as well. Our marriage still a mess, but we praise Him. Our bills are pilling up, but we praise Him. Still going in for chemo, still unemployed, still depressed, still in bankruptcy, kids acting crazy… but still going to praise Him anyway.
In our flesh, we might want to reserve our praises for afterHe breaks our chains. But I have learned that it is the praise we give Him before anything changes that causes our chains to break – especially the chains trying to imprison our minds. There’s nothing like midnight praise to protect us from the attacks of the enemy, and fill our minds with the peace of God.
Our chains today may not be made of iron, but fear, worry, anxiety, sleeplessness, and even doubt can be just as daunting. I dare you to praise Him in the midnight hour, before anything changes in what you see around you, when it is the hardest. Watch Him break the chains that keep us imprisoned in hopelessness. Because when the praises go up the blessings come down; God inhabits our praises (Psalm 22:3).
I believe Paul was speaking from experience when he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).He knew, from the trials and tribulations that he had gone through, that when we rejoice, when we praise in the middle of the pain, God breaks our chains. Paul knew praise attracted the presence of the Person who rules with all authority over the enemy. And when God shows up, the enemy must stand down!
So cast your burdens in prayer, and leave them there by praising the One who has the power and authority you need. God reigns and rules in the midst of our praises. His will, His ways and His work begin to rule and reign in our lives and our minds when we praise Him.
So don’t let your chains break your praise, let your praise break your chains!
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