In my Transformation: Becoming an Effective Prayer Warrior series, we have covered the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ prayer after the Lord’s Supper. Another favorite prayer is King Jehoshaphat’s prayer found in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. What a stirring story! It would do you good to look it up and read the whole thing.
Start with what you know
For our purposes today, we will begin with verse 6 where Jehoshapat opens the prayer with praise.
He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors,
2 Chronicles 20:6 NLT
you alone are the God who is in heaven.
You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth.
You are powerful and mighty;
no one can stand against you!
O our God, did you not drive out those
who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived?
And did you not give this land forever
to the descendants of your friend Abraham?
Child of God, this is why it is so important to be in the Word daily. You must know who God is and what God can do. Being in the Word is how you learn His characteristics. Jehoshaphat knew God’s mighty acts from the Torah and all the stories passed down from his ancestors. He knew of the burning bush, the ten plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the drowning of the Egyptian army, and the guidance of God in a pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. He knew of God’s provision in the wilderness of manna and quail and water from a rock.
If God could do all those things, could He not deliver again?
Speak in faith
Your people settled here and built this Temple
2 Chronicles 20:8-9 NLT
to honor your name. They said,
‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity
such as war, plague, or famine,
we can come to stand in your presence
before this Temple where your name is honored.
We can cry out to you to save us,
and you will hear us and rescue us.’
You see, the beginning of this chapter told us Jehoshaphat and his people had done exactly what this prayer said: they’d gathered together to stand at the Temple in the presence of the Lord. Chapter 20 also tells us they fasted and prayed before they got there, and they prayed the prayer of agreement because they were in unity.
And now the king spoke in faith: “You will hear us and rescue us.”
State the problem
Next in his prayer, he explained what the children of Israel was facing.
“And now see what the armies of Ammon,
2 Chronicles 20:10-12 NLT
Moab, and Mount Seir are doing.
You would not let our ancestors invade those nations
when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them
and did not destroy them.
Now see how they reward us!
For they have come to throw us out of your land,
which you gave us as an inheritance.
O our God, won’t you stop them?
We are powerless against this mighty army
that is about to attack us.
We do not know what to do,
but we are looking to you for help.”
The king told of the unfair treatment they were receiving from their neighbors and ended simply with “we don’t know what to do, BUT we are looking to You for help.” I love how the King James Version puts it, “our eyes are upon you.”
And then the Bible tells us, they all (even the children) stood waiting for an answer.
God answers
We do not know how long it was before God answered, but His spirit came upon Jahaziel, who told them it was not their battle against their enemies, but God’s battle. He then gave them some specific instructions, and ended with this:
But you will not even need to fight.
2 Chronicles 20:17 NLT
Take your positions;
then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory.
He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem.
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
Go out against them tomorrow,
for the Lord is with you!”
The response of the people? They shouted with praise!
God delivers
King Jehoshaphat put together a group of singers who marched FIRST to take their positions. As they went, they sang of God’s faithful love that endures forever. Then the rest of the troops followed to take their positions.
Just as God had said, they did not have to fight; for the Lord caused the opposing armies to turn on each other and they destroyed one another until there was not one enemy left!
Extra blessings
As if deliverance were not enough, God blessed the children of Israel with so much plunder from this battle; it took them 3 days to haul it all away.
Remember, the steps of this story: praying and fasting, coming together in unity, praising what we know of God’s character, speaking in faith, explaining the problem, waiting for direction, obeying God’s direction, praising, deliverance, then blessing.
This is Day 27 of my Transformation: Becoming an Effective Prayer Warrior series. The goal is to write 28 posts discussing spiritual armor, the prayer of agreement and other prayer strategies.
I don’t pretend to know all the answers. I’m going to be thinking with my fingers, so to speak, as I process what is in my heart about these topics after reading the word and praying for discernment.
You can go here to see each post I will be making on this topic.
Today’s question for your consideration: How do we steward the what we’ve learned?
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