Praise and Worship:
Songs of Warfare / Songs of Prophecy


Note: There is a lot of material here. Please pray over where to divide it or piece it together for your class. You may want to combine with another class for this lesson and the activation.


There are basic forms of praise which we may be used to:

1. Singing songs that are already written (like “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”)

2. Singing our own praise to God (like saying, “I thank You Lord for helping me today”)

3. Singing out in the Spirit or in ‘tongues’

Many songs are designed to honor God. They say, “Lord we praise You” or “We bow down and confess You are Lord in this place.” Others are designed to teach the people something or to stir up faith for a response: “We are praying with power, in this vital hour we stand, for we are called to call on Him… asking God to move and do His will…”

Some songs are songs of warfare. Psalm 149:6 tells us that there is a warfare aspect of praise.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!

With this in mind, some songs are written to declare the judgment of God- for example, “As we clap our hands, we will strike the enemy, and as we dance with joy, the host of hell will flee! And as we lift our hands, His banner will be raised, and with a shout of victory, His name will be praised!” or “The walls will come down with a shout of praise…”

There is also a prophetic type of praise. Prophecy is hearing and speaking forth the words of God. Sometimes this happens when we praise Him, by ourselves or in church.

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

This purple part states that God actually sings to us! Can you imagine, if God sang you a song, what He might say to you? This is really the basis of prophetic praise-- what God is saying to us and how we answer Him. This works just like speaking a prophecy. If I feel that God is giving me a message for someone, or for the whole group, I will talk to a leader and let them know. If they give me approval, I will then share it with the person or the group. In this case, I would be singing it instead of simply saying it! It’s that easy!

Typically, there are certain patterns of songs that come prophetically. Sometimes we sing words that tell us what GOD is saying to His people. An example might be “I am calling you to rise up and fight against the enemy, because I am going to reveal My power and My glory, And I will give you victory as you put your trust in Me, Rise up! I say Rise up! The Spirit of the Lord says Rise up!”
Then sometimes we will have a prophetic song of praise to the Father. An example might be, “Holy, holy! You are holy! Holy! All we can do is kneel before You and worship You, our God! You are enthroned on righteousness and justice, and we bow down before You as Your servants…”

Other times, we may hear a song of the Bride or of the Bridegroom. These songs are almost as if the church is speaking to Jesus, our Savior, and hearing Him speak to us. In the midst of praise and worship, someone might sing out, “Don’t you know how much I love you, my precious, precious people? Don’t you know how much I’ve given you, I’ve laid down my life…” Then someone else might respond with, “O Lord Jesus, how we thank You for everything You’ve done. You are so wonderful! You are so marvelous! I could never sing Your praises enough…”

It should be said that one of the most important parts of this process is to avoid “second-guessing” yourself. Be careful. Don’t just sing out anything. God will give discernment. But if you start asking, “Is that really what I am supposed to sing?” then you will probably not sing the song of the Lord, or you will sing a different version than what God originally gave you.

This is especially important for the song of deliverance. This song will probably point out an issue that God is working on in someone’s heart or in the group as a whole. It could be emotional, mental, spiritual, or even physical. You could sing and prophesy healing to someone’s sickness. Or you could be singing about comfort for someone who is grieving. You might be singing about freedom for someone who is struggling with sin. Sometimes you may not know exactly what you’re singing about. But trust God, and He will get the job done.

Finally, there is a prophetic Song of War. We sing warfare songs, which are nicely written songs that give us the chance to declare or to proclaim; to sort of ‘fight’ with our song. But every so often, in a group or by yourself, God will move and have someone sing a prophetic Song of War. These are usually more driven and forceful, with a definite beat or march. They usually aren’t slow and soft and ‘pretty’ songs about love. You might be singing “We are going to take this nation back for the King of Kings! Jesus reigns above all nations and principalities! We lift up the name of Jesus! We lift up the name of Jesus! For at the name of Jesus everyone must bow the knee!”

(the teaching could include a time with someone on the piano/guitar demonstrating the types of music)

The key in all of this is that no matter what we do, we listen for God to tell us what HE wants and then we act IN FAITH and work WITH HIM based on His grace. So if God tells me to sing healing over someone, I don’t have to sing really well for the healing to work; I just have to step out in faith and do what He tells me. The miracle is HIS responsibility. Similarly, if God tells me to dance or wave a banner, I don’t have to worry about how skilled or unskilled I am… I just do it and trust that GOD is the One in the audience that really counts—I will honor Him by what I am doing. Asking God, hearing God, and obeying God. That’s what prophetic praise and warfare is all about.

Activation: Find a piano player or keyboardist. Have the kids practice singing the Word…… while the piano player continues to play the same tune over and over, have them choose a Psalm, and line up, each taking a turn singing their Psalm into the microphone. This will give them the experience of singing the Word, flowing with the music, and make it easier for them to move in this type of prophecy and warfare.