Preparation for
Prayer
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat
appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his
holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the
Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the
Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and
Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
(2 Chronicles 20:21-22
NIV).
King Jehoshaphat
of Judah was afraid. A great multitude
of enemies were coming against him and God’s people. The King set his face to seek the Lord and
proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Then the people of Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord at the
house of the Lord. King Jehoshaphat
prayed for help by first acknowledging that the Lord is powerful and able to
save His people. Next he acknowledged
his own powerless and inability to do anything about the situation. The Lord responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer
and told him and all Judah not to be afraid for the battle was not theirs, but
God’s. The Lord promised that the people
would not have to fight this battle, but only stand firm and see the salvation
of the Lord on their behalf. The next
day the people obeyed, went out, and believed.
As they praised the Lord for delivering on His promise even before they
witnessed their enemies’ destruction, the Lord provided
victory.
What is your first
response when faced with great or even small obstacles in life? Jehoshaphat first had the people prepare
their hearts through fasting before seeking help from the Lord through
prayer. Jehoshaphat wanted to ensure the
people had the right mindset, the right heart attitude, the right motives before
asking anything from the Lord. It is
easy to rush into prayer and seeking the Lord’s help should be our desire, but
do we examine ourselves first to ensure He will hear us when we pray? His word tells us that harboring unconfessed
sin, having a doubting mind, and unreconciled relationships all inhibit God from
hearing us. We must first deal with our
heart condition and then we will be able to acknowledge Him as all powerful and
ourselves as powerless. We will seek Him
in humility. And when He responds with
promises, we will believe them and step out in faith praising Him knowing He
will provide the victory.
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