Worship at the Frontline
In my journey with God - though still unfolding - I’ve come to recognise two distinct types of spiritual warfare that every believer will face. The first is the battle God fights for us. The second is the battle God expects us to fight ourselves, using the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding He gives us through His Holy Spirit.
Discerning which kind of battle you’re in is crucial, because your defense strategy depends on it. The posture you take when God is doing the fighting is not the same as when He’s calling you to rise up and fight, fully equipped in Him.
In this post, I want to focus on the first type - the battle that belongs to the Lord. There’s a specific kind of rest, trust, and spiritual posture required when God says, “Be still, I’ve got this.” I’ll save the other kind - the one where He equips you to fight - for another post. But today, let’s talk about what it looks like when the fight isn’t yours… but His.
Let’s unpack one of my favourite passages in Scripture 2 Chronicles 20:2–25. This story is such a clear picture of what it looks like when God fights for us and we simply align ourselves with Him. It’s a masterclass in what our position should be when the battle isn’t ours.
2 Chronicles 20:2-3 - The threat and the response
“Then it was reported to Jehoshaphat, ‘A great multitude has come against you...’ Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” The king gets news: A multitude is coming. The danger is real and overwhelming. Fear is a natural human response, but watch what Jehoshaphat does with that fear: he redirects it into faith. He doesn’t spiral, he seeks. He doesn’t hide, he humbles himself through fasting.
2 Chronicles 20:4-6 - Corporate Agreement & Covenant Memory
“So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord… and said, ‘O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?’” This wasn’t a private prayer moment, it was a national gathering. There’s power when people come together in agreement. Jehoshaphat starts his prayer by recalling who God is - His authority, sovereignty, and track record. And from this we can identify a key spiritual strategy: Before you ask God for help, remind yourself who you're talking to. This builds faith and shifts the focus from the size of the battle to the size of your God.
2 Chronicles 20:7-9 - Recalling the Promise
“O our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Your friend Abraham? They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying, ‘If evil comes on us, or the sword of judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your Name and Your Presence is in this house) and will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’” Jehoshaphat reminds God and the people of Judah, of what God had already done - clearing the land for Abraham’s descendants - and the covenant that came with it. He even references Solomon’s prayer when the temple was dedicated (2 Chronicles 6), pointing to the promise that when trouble comes, if they cry out, God will answer. This was bold faith in action. He’s not begging - he’s reminding. When you’re in a covenant relationship with God, you can pray His promises back to Him. It’s not arrogance; it’s alignment.
2 Chronicles 20:10-12 - Honest Petition
“Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You would not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt (for they turned away from them and did not destroy them),
here they are, rewarding us by coming to drive us out of Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.
O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless against this great multitude which is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” Jehoshaphat reminds God that these enemies were spared by Israel - by God's own instruction. And now they’ve come back with bad intentions. He admits their powerlessness, but immediately shifts the focus with one of the most iconic lines in Scripture: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” This is vulnerability + faith. This scripture shows us that God doesn’t need our strategy; He wants our dependence.
2 Chronicles 20:13-14 - Unity & Divine Response
“So all Judah stood before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children. Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel…” The entire community stood before God - including the babies. And right there in that place of worship and stillness, the Spirit of God spoke through Jahaziel. This scripture teaches us that sometimes divine clarity doesn’t come until we’re quiet, still, and in position.You don’t get the word by striving - you get it by standing.
2 Chronicles 20:15-17 - Divine Instruction
“...Do not be afraid or dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Go down against them tomorrow. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; take your positions, stand and witness the salvation of the Lord who is with you... Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” This is a divine download. God acknowledges the threat but gives very specific instructions:
Do not fear.
Take your position.
Stand.
Watch.
God instructed Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem to show up in faith, not to fight, but to witness God’s move. From this we learn that sometimes God isn’t asking you to fix it, He’s asking you to show up with faith and stay in position.
2 Chronicles 20:18-19 -Worship Before the win
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him. The Levites… stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.” This scripture in particular, along with verse 22 are the most important scriptures for me throughout the entire passage because it reveals the weapon that activated the power of God and their victory. That weapon was Worship and the central focus of this blog post. Before the battle, before the breakthrough, they bowed down and praised the Lord. This is prophetic praise , it’s a declaration of victory in advance. The king is on his face. The worship leaders are standing and shouting. This is a powerful picture of unity in praise. When praise goes up before the victory, it invites the supernatural. Worship is one of the most powerful weapons we have when standing in a battle that God is fighting for us, and it’s a weapon we must learn to wield. If we want to see victory.
2 Chronicles 20:20-22 - Faith Fuelled obedience
“...Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established. Believe and trust in His prophets and succeed. When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire… and they went out before the army and said, ‘Praise and give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.’ When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes…” Jehoshaphat didn’t just listen - he acted on the Word. The army lined up, but the singers led. They went out praising God’s mercy, not even mentioning the enemy. It won’t always make sense, but when we obey God with faith, we unlock favour. And the second they started singing? God moved.
2 Chronicles 20:22 - The Shift
“When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir... so they were struck down [in defeat]. God caused serious confusion among the enemy - the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (the Edomites). When they arrived in the wilderness, God set an ambush that made them turn on each other. The Ammonites attacked the Moabites, the Moabites clashed with the Edomites, and the Edomites fought the Ammonites, completely destroying one another. And Judah? They didn’t have to lift a finger. They stood back, trusting God to do the work, and watched the victory unfold. This shows us that worship isn’t just something we do - it’s a powerful weapon that shifts the atmosphere. Remember, you’re not fighting alone, and sometimes, you won’t even have to fight at all.
2 Chronicles 20:24-25 - The Aftermath
When the men of Judah came to the lookout tower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil… they found among them a great number of goods, garments, and valuable things... more than they could carry. It took three days to gather the spoil.” When they arrived, the enemy was already defeated. The only thing left to do was collect their blessings. It took three days to gather everything. This was more than a win - it was overflow. When we trust God in battle, He doesn’t just protect us, He blesses us exceedingly and in the end we walk away with evidence that we were covered by Him the entire time.
I took the time to unpack each verse in this passage for one reason: to emphasise this truth - worship is your weapon when the war isn’t yours to fight. Now, in its broader context, worship is a lifestyle, a perpetual posture of reverence and surrender. But in the context of this story, and of the battles that God fights on our behalf, I’m specifically talking about the songs of praise we lift to acknowledge, extol, and exalt our God. In my own experience, the Holy Spirit often places a melody in my heart, sometimes just one line of a song, and I’ll sing it over and over until I’m led into peace or victory. Earlier this week, I found myself in the middle of a very difficult situation. I turned to God for guidance and, to be honest, I was upset. I couldn’t understand why the Holy Spirit would speak so clearly to me about so many other things, yet remain silent on something that felt like the biggest challenge I’d ever faced. After I poured my heart out, I sat quietly and in that stillness, I heard the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit sing one line:
“Be still and know that I Am God, I’m in control, I Am still God.” I cried. Not from sadness or despair, but from the comfort of knowing that God had heard me. That He had me. I recognised the song and later found it on Spotify: “Be Still” by Travis Greene. I’ve always been one who loves to worship, but since then, worship has become my anchor in this storm. Each day, the Holy Spirit continues to drop songs into my spirit, and I’ve been using them to build a playlist I’ve called “Victory.” I play it on repeat while I sleep and sing throughout the day, whenever and wherever I can.
A few other songs that are carrying me in this season:
“Judah” by Dunsin Oyekan
“I Get Backing” by Victoria Orenze
“Koseunti” by Sunmisola Agbebi
“Oba Awon Oba” by Joe Mettle
These aren’t just melodies, they’re marching orders in the Spirit .And I truly believe I’m being led to victory. I will return with a testimony - one that speaks of the Mercy, Justice, and Power of El-Elyon - God Most High.
In a follow-up post, I’ll be sharing some practical, Spirit-led strategies you can lean into when the battle isn’t yours but the Lord’s, straight from 2 Chronicles 20:2–25.
With Love, P xo
