2 Chron. 20:15. "Listen King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle belongs to the Lord".
Jehoshaphat's life is a fascinating read. He became king at 35 and ruled until he was 60. The Bible reduces his 25 years as king down to 4 chapters (17,18,19,20). Two of these chapters deal with battles. King J fought some royal battles in his lifetime. He fought against Moabites, Ammonites, Meunites, and Arameans. There were many battles in his days, but the Bible records two.
Like King J all of us fight battles. It's not a matter of 'if' we will face battles, but 'when' (Eph. 6.13). There are financial battles, physical battles, emotional battles, relational battles, spiritual battles, and family battles. One person said: "life, itself, is a battle".
The Bible gives two approaches to what to do when battles occur in our lives.
The first one is found in chapter 18:
It is the perfect plan and blue-print for making sure that you totally and completely FAIL to win your battle. If you want to 100% guarantee that you fall flat on your face just put into practice King J's approach. He allies himself with a wicked man who the Lord detested. He went into discussions without seeking God. When he finally did seek God, he ignored the clear word that the Lord gave him. He cooperated with the seducing spirit sent to deceive King Ahab. He listened to ungodly advice and dressed up like King Ahab. He came within an inch of loosing his life. Yes, this is the perfect game plane for making sure you loose your battle miserably: 1) disobey God 2) don't seek the Lord 3) ignore His voice 4) cooperate with satanic influences 5) follow godless advice, and 6) go where you aren't supposed to be- I promise you this is the best possible way to make sure that you mess your life up!
Fortunately, there is another battle recorded in scripture in chapter 20 that turns out much differently.
This time around King J. is being attacked by 3 different armies that are intent on destroying him. He is alarmed. Who wouldn't be? There is a vast army coming his way. He's outnumbered and knows it. This time around he starts off by making a decision to begin the battle by seeking the Lord. He makes prayer his priority.
Some people say that prayer is just emotional therapy for believers. These people have never really prayed. I love what Dr. Jack Hayford says about prayer in his book: "prayer is invading the impossible with the possible of what God can do".
But notice what kind of prayer he prays- verses 5-7. This is not the kind of worry filled, fear inspired, anxiety driven prayer that characterizes so many of God's people. He doesn't magnify the problem in front Him. King J isn't going to exalt the terrible situation in front of him. Rather, instead of problem-centered praying he opts for God-centered praying. His words are full of faith and full of confidence. He knows his time is short so he must lift up God. He starts with God's supremacy- are you not the God who is in heaven? Then he moves to God's authority-you rule over all the kingdoms. Finally he sees God's capacity- Power and might are in your hand. He has a HUGE vision of who God is and what God can do. In comparison the problem in front of him is small.
This is the secret of Great Praying- we must include God's Greatness in our Prayers! It was what Nehemiah did (Neh. 1). It's what Daniel did (Dan. 9.4). It's how Jesus taught us how to pray: "Our Father who is in heaven. May your Name be great and glorified. May your Kingdom come and your will be done!"
Friends let me ask: "How big is your God?" The story is told of the tribe in Africa that was afraid of letting a certain tree in their village be cut down. The reason was because their 'god' lived in the tree and they were afraid that he wouldn't have a place to live. I'm so glad we don't serve some tribal deity with no authority outside of a small group of huts. We serve the Lord the great and awesome covenant seeking God! We serve the mighty one clothed in light. We serve the holy one whose very presence is glorious. (Part 2 to follow soon).
thats good! I will study that more today
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