The Power of Worship

You could cut the tension with a knife. It was universal. Not a face in the town square didn’t contort with the furrow of fear. It was palpable. Everyone seemed worried except . . . except the king.

That was strange because, while others may be left with their lives once the invaders breached the wall, it was the King who could kiss his head bye-bye. They might spare the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, but the king would be killed. But he didn’t seemed worried.

Well, maybe that was because he’d lost his mind. At least that was probably what some of the people thought when they heard him that morning. He said, “I know their army is bigger and their weapons are better, but we’re still going out against them.” But that wasn’t the most unusual thing that he said. Jehoshaphat, the King, went on to tell them that they weren’t going out fighting, they were going out worshiping. As they marched to battle they loudly and publically praised and worshiped God.

And then something powerful happened. The Bible says:

22 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. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

That’s the power of worship!