God in His Word not only commands us to pray but He shows the ingredients of victorious praying, in the experience of His people, that is, He reveals the attitudes and actions of obedient believers in a real life situation: Three hostile heathen armies were converging on the nation of Judah. The nation was facing complete destruction at the hands of enemies a hundred times stronger. Illus: Much like Russian-Finnish War (1940’s) when Russia, about the largest nation on earth, pounced on one of the smallest countries on the globe, little Finland.
Jehosophat was King of Judah at this time. He and his people saw the Bigness of their problem, the Hugeness of the Armies at their door, but both the King and ALL his people got their eyes on something Bigger – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and witnessed a victory beyond anything they could have imagined (See Jer. 33:3 and the New Testament parallel: Ephesians 3:20) The entire scenario is described, point by point, in 2 Chron. 20. Let us now note the “Ingredients” of Victorious Praying as set forth:
- Helplessness – 2 Chron. 20:2
- Fear of the Lord – verse 3a.
- Fasting – verse 3b.
- Unity of nation – verse 4.
- God centered – not man centered: Jehosophat’s awesome prayer – verses 5 – 12).
- Appeal to God’s power above all – verse 6.
- God’s past favor toward Judah – v.
- Confident God hears – v. 9.
- No power in ourselves – but “Our eyes are upon You” – v. 12.
- Unity of people again described – even involving wives and children – v. 13.
- Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit:
- Holy Spirit speaks to simple lay person, Jahaziel, who called upon King Jehosophat and all the people to listen: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of the great multitude, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT God’s …You will not need to fight… Position yourself, and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you.” – verses 14-17.
- Humility: “Jehosophat fell on his face to the ground, also all the people, worshipping the Lord – v. 18.
- Praise: The Levites or Choir “stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with loud and high voices” – vs. 19.
- Trust – Johosophat “Believe in the Lord your God…believe His prophets and you shall prosper” – v. 20.
- Praise Again – Johosophat appoints choir:
- “To sing unto the Lord” – v. 22a.
- Choir went out before the army, saying “Praise the Lord – for his mercy endures forever – v. 22c.
- Holiness – “praise the beauty of holiness” – v. 22b – James 5:16b
- Miraculous victory: “ Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.” – v. 22 -24.
- Fulfillment of God’s promise in Jer. 33:3; Ephes. 3:20-25.
- Great Praise again: Celebration, turning their “Valley of Despair” into the “Valley of Praise”, Berachah, until this day – v. 26-28.
- Witness to the Lost World: Fear of God fell upon surrounding heathen nation when they “heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.” v. 29.
“IT’S AMAZING WHAT PRAISING CAN DO”: Rest and Quiet settled over the hearts of all the people – v. 30c; Phil. 4:6-7.