I am impressed today by the simple fact that Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, prayed much like his father did, King Asa of Judah!
If you remember, when King Asa faced an Ethiopian army of 1,000,000 men, awesome … he trusted God for the victory! “And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, WHETHER WITH MANY, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against THIS MULTITUDE. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” 2nd Chronicles 14:11
Praying against a multitude!
And a generation later son Jehoshaphat was attacked by a huge force as well. “And it came to pass, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a GREAT MULTITUDE against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.” 2nd Chronicles 20:1-2
What did King Jehoshaphat do?
He too prayed!
And Oh, what a prayer he prayed!
Claiming the promises of God, “And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, if, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” 2nd Chronicles 20:5-12
“Our eyes are upon Thee!”
No longer leaning on wicked Ahab, as in the last war!
No longer depending on how many soldiers we can field!
“Our eyes are upon Thee!”
And God did answer!
His Words, through the Prophet Jahaziel: “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” 2nd Chronicles 20:17
And the victory was won!
By trusting God alone!
Read the results: “And they (the Army of Judah) rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.” 2nd Chronicles 20:20-25, God so “confusing” this wicked enemy confederacy that they attacked and killed each other!
What an illustration of a Dad’s prayer life influencing (impacting) his son!
And what an illustration of the Power of God!
And what an illustration of trusting God, not an ally or a weapon … God alone!
End result: GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell