Shout Unto the Lord!
By Kendra Osborn
“The seventh time around, when the priest sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!’
When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it…”
Joshua 6:16, 20-21(NIV)
There is something interesting about the times God has allowed us to live in and be a part of. Recently, I have gotten very excited about the opportunities the Lord has set before His bride for 2009. I think about the change that is about to come and whether you agree with it or not, change is coming. The question is what are we, His bride, going to do in the midst of it?
It is time for the Bride of Christ to stand up and open her mouth and let a loud sound come forth. The question is, are we, the Church, preparing ourselves and taking our positions to take back “the city” as Joshua and his army did? What we have handed over and relinquished is ours to reclaim, what the enemy has taken from us we must take it back. We have been dormant for too long. But we must be ready to engage ourselves for battle and the only way to do that is if we are prepared to use our voices.
I have often said that our voices are powerful against the enemy when we use them out loud. I believe we must penetrate the spiritual realm with an audible voice when we are in the midst of the war but we must know when it’s time. Just as Joshua instructed the people in Joshua 6:10, ‘But Joshua had commanded the people, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”’
I believe it is time for the bride to raise her voice and shout. We must defend our faith and everything we know to be right and true. I have taught my children that the Lord knows our thoughts before we even speak them but the enemy does not, he is not capable. The only thing the enemy can do is plant thoughts in our minds but he cannot read them. So, if we’re in a battle with someone who cannot read our mind then the only way to fight is to open our mouths and shout! How effective can we be if all we do is pray silently against the things of the enemy if he cannot read what we are thinking? We won’t be! We have to shake the spiritual realm with our voices. Shouting so loud they resonate throughout our nation.
My Pastor said something that shocked a lot of people yesterday in His message but it is absolute truth. He said, “The Church in America is losing the battle because we continue to focus on the wrong things and ask the wrong questions.”
It’s time, as the bride of Christ, to stand up and shout unto the Lord!
Pray with me:Father God, Maker of heaven and of earth and everything in it. Thank You for Your goodness and Your mercies that You bestow upon me every day. I praise You for Your faithfulness even when I am not faithful to You.
Father, I pray I would use my voice to shake the heavenlies and reclaim this city. You are the God of this city! I lift up my voice to You today and pray for the poor, the broken and the vulnerable. I cry out for those who don’t know You and are deceived by the lies of the enemy.
Help me Father to prepare myself for the battle. Give me strength and courage to enter in and the wisdom to know when to raise my voice or march around the city in prayer until You give the command to open my mouth. Awaken Your bride Lord and prepare her for the battle. Prepare her for the changes that are coming.
Your Word says that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Oh how I pray I believe that and claim it to be the very truth. Knowing that You are in me and are greater than the one seeking to steal, kill and destroy. Let me use my voice with authority to reclaim the land and produce victories in my life and the lives of others.
Lord, I love You and I pray all these things in the name that is above all names, Jesus Christ. Amen.