Praising God is a weapon against the devil.  The more we praise, worship and show gratitude the stronger we become to stand against the enemy.  In Ephesians 6:12 we are told "12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Another weapon given us is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  (Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Ephesians 6:17)  

As I was reading about our weapon of praise in "The Power of the Praying Woman" by Stormie Omartian it got me to thinking about our enemy, Satan.  We defeat him through praise, worship, gratitude, the Scripture and our obedience.  But can we also do the opposite?  And if we can, then it is something we need to be very, very careful about. 

And you know what?  I think we can do the opposite.  We can empower him in our lives through complaining.  We can give him a foothold through judging, fault-finding, impatience and anger. In a way, we can defeat God's purpose in our lives by engaging in these things   Our words are so powerful.  Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.  So, I'm thinking, in a way, complainging is praising Satan.  YUCK!  I do not want to be doing that!

Such a simple little concept but with a very big impact.  I would much rather be praising God than Satan anyday.  And yet I am a little to free with the complaints in my life.  That needs to change!

Lord, think You for this little tidbit and new way of looking at things.  I love when You do what You do!  You make us see things in a new light.  And it's wonderful because we learn so much.  Change us to always be praising You and never giving any glory to the enemy.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Start thinking about who you are praising.