More on warfare...and how to win!

This is taken from Sylvia Gunter's book Prayer Portions.

Praise As Warfare

     Greetings from the trenches.  I am not sure what battle you are facing today, but I know you are facing one.  We are all living in the middle of a war.  One of our most powerful weapons is praise.  Praise is a warfare strategy that has been winning wars throughout the ages.
2 Chronicles 20:22
"When they began singing and praising..."  The Israelites used praise as God's appointed weapon for winning a tremendous victory.  They had not even reached the battlefront when God acted and completely destroyed their three-fold enemy.
Acts 16:25-26
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns.  Suddenly a violent earthquake shook the foundations of the prison.  The prison doors flew open, and prisoners were set free because of praise.
Joshua 5:14, 15 and 6:2
Joshua bowed to worship, and God told him that Jericho was already in his hands.  As the Israelites marched around the city, they walked out the victory already won in worship.
Judges 7:15
Gideon bowed to worship, returned to his camp, and reported, "Arise, God has given the enemy into our hands
     It is sometimes more important to persevere in praise than to continue to petition.  Why?

Because in praise, we take our eyes off people and stop fighting on the human level.  We focus our spiritual eyes on God and see beyond ourselves and our problem to lay hold of His infinite ability,  availability, and sovereignty.  Praise stirs up our faith to stand in His almighty name.
Because God has already judged Satan, and he is a defeated foe.  Praise executes upon him and his spiritual rulers the judgments that God has already written (Psa. 149:6-9).  God has already handed down the sentence which will be put into effect by the praises of His people.
Because praise acknowledges the victory Christ already won.  Jesus is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name in this age (Eph. 1:20-21).  His victory over Satan was legally accomplished at Calvary, but Satan is contesting His rule.  Christ's victory is currently credited to the church.  God is using warfare to teach His people massive, continual, aggressive, militant, offensive praise to overcome spiritual forces of wickedness.  Praise speeds victory in our prayer battles.
     Praise is adoration of God for who He is, His person, His character, His names.  It is loving God because He is God.  The Bible gives more exhortations to praise than to pray, because God is altogether lovely, holy, and completely worthy of our worship.  So, troops, let's use our valuable weapon of praise for the battles we are facing today and see how God delivers us.

From Prayer Portions, page 115-16. © 1991, 1992, 1995 Sylvia Gunter. Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com