Worship as a Weapon | THE Secret to Spiritual Warfare

I was broken that day. A person I deeply trusted had not only betrayed and bullied me, but involved several other loved ones in ganging up against me.

And worst of all, they had done it all with confidence, stamping the name of Jesus Christ over their actions. Ugh.

But I was also the most at peace I’d ever been that day. Despite what felt like the entire world standing against me, I faced an uncertain future fearlessly and confidently, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

I saw heaven more clearly than I ever had. I felt the presence of God filling and overflowing my car and every cell of my body. It was the moment I learned to use worship as a weapon.

Many of us don’t think of worship as a weapon. Instead, we think of it as the music that sets the mood for a church service.

We think of worship music as something to play softly in the background, as long as the song is catchy, right? As parents, we might think of worship music as an alternative to play in the car, so our kids aren’t listening to songs glorifying hookups and drugs.

But the fact is that we’re wielding the most powerful weapon of all when we worship God, not just setting a peaceful, coffee shop-like atmosphere in our church lobby.

Worship Changes Your Focus

The first reason to use worship as a weapon is that it shifts your focus and mindset.

When we fix our eyes on the darkness and struggles of this life, when we invest our energy into talking and worrying about them, those spiritual forces of evil only seem to gain a stronger grip on our hearts. But when we set our attention on worship, we begin to remember who God is in the midst of the darkness. 

My mind tells me that people are ganged up against me. Worship tells me that Jesus Christ Himself fights for me, and is greater than the sum of men.

My mind tells me that physical and mental illness will consume and kill me. Worship tells me that God heals and promises to use all things for His glory.

My mind focuses on what I can’t do. But worship reminds me of what the Holy Spirit can do.

Worship is the most powerful weapon to cut through the darkest of circumstances and speak to your spirit, to remind you of God’s truth and power over the appearance of your circumstances.

Worship Changes Your Perspective

The second reason to use worship as a weapon is that true worship trades your earthly perspective for a heavenly one. While similar to shifting your focus, shifting your perspective calls into question why we’re even here in the first place.

That day in the car, the song that overtook my spirit was “Holy (Wedding Day)” by The City Harmonic. At a time when I felt my own story had taken a hopeless turn for the worst, the lyrics brought everything back into focus:

This is the story of the Son of God hanging on a cross for me, but it ends with a bride and groom and a wedding by a glassy sea.

Oh, death, where is your sting? Cause I’ll be there singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.”

It struck me, realizing how hopeless it must have looked when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross, and when He died. What appears more final than death? But then the reminder, “But it ends with a bride and groom and a wedding by a glassy sea.”

I knew the ending. Whether I won or lost at that moment in life, I knew the most important thing – how my story ended…in heavenly realms. And it was glorious.

The next line was a confident and joyous taunt. “Oh, death, where is your sting? Cause I’ll be there singing.”

I sang that line so loudly and defiantly at my circumstances. Because really, what could those circumstances hold over me in light of how my story would end? Suddenly, the pain felt temporary and powerless.

Worship helps you to zoom out from your circumstances and spiritual battles to see the world and eternity as God does, and as it truly is.

Worship Changes Your Circumstances

And don’t believe for a minute that my loud and defiant singing was in vain! The third reason to use worship as a weapon is that the power of worship transforms our circumstances.

We’re singing and speaking and shouting God’s Word and truth over the lies of the enemy. The Bible verses found in both Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew 24:35 tell us that the things of this world will wither and fall, that the earth itself will pass away, but that God’s Word endures forever.

“For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does” (Psalm 33:4, NIV).

It will save us (James 1:21).

God Himself promises His word, “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent” (Isaiah 55:11).

He promises, “whatever I say will be fulfilled” (Ezekiel 12:28).

Friends, those Bible verses offer some powerful promises! And those promises will overcome both the lies of this world and the lies of our circumstances.

That’s why actively participating in the high praises of God, in true worship, is the most powerful weapon you can use to fight against spiritual forces of evil. God’s Word changes the outcome.

A powerful example of this truth can be found in the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. With a large army marching out to meet him, and absolutely no hope of survival, King Jehoshaphat chose to seek and worship God rather than to panic:

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, King Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, King Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So King Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

2 Chronicles 20:20-25

The presence of God went ahead of the praises of his people to fight and win the battle before King Jehoshaphat could even arrive. That’s the power of worship at work!

Worship Changes Your Enemy’s Position

The fourth reason to use worship as a weapon is that it drives Satan away. Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people.

That means that when you worship God, you invite the presence of God into the room and into your circumstances. And when God is present, Satan (and all of his spiritual attacks) has no choice but to flee.

Don’t forget either that the Heavenly realms are a kingdom of continuous praise and worship. So when you worship God, you’re extending His heavenly kingdom to your place on Earth. Satan obviously doesn’t want any part of that either.

While it’s easy to believe that our troubles lie with other people and earthly circumstances, Ephesians 6:12 tells us otherwise:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

And those “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”? They cannot win spiritual battles in which God’s name is lifted high and defiantly in worship.

Those actions usher in the powerful presence of God, who promises to inhabit the praises of His people, and shake the spiritual realm to its core.

Worship Changes Those Around You

The final reason to use worship as a weapon is that it changes those around you. You can find a very powerful example of this truth in Acts 16, where Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned for preaching God’s word.

Bible verses 25-26 note, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

The jailer woke up and was about to kill himself, believing the prisoners had all escaped. But Paul cried out to stop him.

And what was the jailer’s response? He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Paul and Silas worshiped in the direst of circumstances, when worship didn’t seem to make much sense. I mean, why worship a God who would allow you to be thrown into prison? Surely God’s presence wasn’t with them there, right? The other prisoners were probably shaking their heads.

But the resulting power of worship brought the jailer and his entire family, and likely many of the prisoners in that same jail, to know and serve God.

Don’t believe for a second that others aren’t watching you as you navigate life’s greatest challenges, waiting to see what you’ll do, how you’ll respond. Imagine the witness you’ll provide if you stand in worship and trust God’s Word and promise to work all things for your good.

How to Use Worship as a Weapon

You can and should participate in corporate worship at church (It’s one of the best ways to get started!), but God’s goal for His people has always been for us to live a life of worship. That means worship songs should extend beyond corporate worship into your everyday life.

Want to know the best part of all? It’s that you can’t mess up using worship as a weapon.

You can sing worship music out of tune, own zero musical instruments, and forget some of the words. You can sing softly to yourself or sing so loudly your voice cracks.

You can sing at church, in your home, in your car, anywhere. And no matter how or where you’re declaring that worship, the effect is the same!

The biggest, most important thing is that you must focus on the words and message of the song.

Humming a song to yourself or playing it in the background while you work definitely ushers in God’s presence.

But to receive the full effect of worship, you have to focus on and declare the words as you sing them. You need to establish a heart of worship and really mean those words.

Looking for some triumphant songs to start singing and declaring over your life? Sing songs from your church or favorite worship music album.

Or check out some of my current favorites – “Holy (Wedding Day),” “Build My Life,” “Do It Again,” “Reckless Love,” and “So Will I (100 Billion X).”

You can and must use worship as a weapon, especially in your most challenging seasons. It changes your focus, perspective, and circumstances, drives away Satan, and changes those around you.

What have you overcome using worship as a weapon? Be sure to share in the comments!

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