Five Invaluable Keys To Prayer

Judah and King Jehoshaphat are about to be invaded by an overwhelming army of, “the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites” (2 Chronicles 20:1).

In the face of this oncoming invasion and most certain slaughter of the people of Judah, the first thing King Jehoshaphat does is pray to God. Within his prayer is one of the most important and powerful outpourings and confessions one could make. It is something we all should take to heart when going to God with overwhelming problems.

Jehoshaphat prayed, “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.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)

First, Jehoshaphat asks God to “judge them”. As Matthew Henry, the 17th century theologian said, “Wilt thou not give sentence against them, and execute it upon them?” The justice of God is the refuge of those that are wronged”.

God and His judgment is the “refuge” to all of us that have been “wronged”. Psalm 91:2 states it perfectly.

“I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)

Now comes the great confession from Jehoshaphat. “…for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us”.

Sound familiar? Have you ever felt powerless, with, “no might”, helpless in the face of a pending problem? Maybe it’s a personal problem? A debt owed with no money or possibility of money coming in to pay it. A drug or alcohol addiction that you can’t overcome. A marital/relationship problem. Depression. Sickness. Is there something in your life bigger than you, pressing on you, ready to consume you? Do you feel like you, “have no might against this great company that cometh against us”?

When we go to God in prayer and for help we should confess to Him that we are powerless against our foe. We also need to recognize that God is the ultimate power and authority. This can be very difficult for man. It goes against the carnal grain of the man of this world with his pride and ego. It is surrender. But it isn’t surrender to the enemy, it is surrender to God, the ultimate power, authority and creator of all things. We let go and let God. We admit our weakness and inabilities and turn them all over to our Lord for salvation and protection. If we do not do this then the oncoming army of problems, which is too great for any of us to handle, will be victorious. We must turn to God for help, then step aside and have faith and trust in Him.

The second part of Jehoshaphat’s confession describes a place we’ve all been at. “…neither know we what to do”. Doesn’t this all sound familiar too? We have a problem that is too big for us to handle and we simply do not know what to do! We explore all options. Think and worry and try to come up with a resolution to the problem. We get lost. We see no way out of the situation. The devil is hoping we will crumble. But the answer is “our eyes are upon thee”. We must focus on the Lord and trust in Him.

“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Psalm 112:7).

So what happens to King Jehoshaphat, Judah and the oncoming invasion after Jehoshaphat prays?

The Spirit of the Lord through a man named Jahaziel instructs the king and the people of Judah, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s”. (2 Chronicles 20:16)

This holds true for us too. When we turn to God and give Him our problems the battle is no longer ours, but God’s. We have to trust in Him completely and stop trying to fight God’s battles for Him.

Jahaziel, continues speaking by the Spirit and tells Judah, “To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 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.” (2 Chronicles 20:16-17)

Wow! The Lord instructs all of Judah to go to the battlefield, to meet the enemy face to face and to do what? Nothing! God tells Judah to, “stand ye still“! Why? Because the “battle is not yours, but God’s”.

As all of Judah rises up early the next morning to do as God commanded, King Jehoshaphat said something to his people that was vital for their victory. This is the substance of all things hoped for, the very foundation of our religion.

Jehoshaphat 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” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

For all this to happen. For all of this to be true. For all of their prayers to be answered and for all of their trials and tribulations to be overcome, it all boiled down to one thing. Belief in God and His word. Everything rests on belief. Jehoshaphat said, “Hear me… Believe in the Lord your God”!

Jehoshaphat appoints singers to go out before his army to sing praises of the Lord God. As they begin to sing here is what happened.

“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” (2 Chronicles 22-24).

Jehoshaphat learns that Judah is going to be attacked. He prays. God answers. God tells the people of Judah to go to war but to “stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah”. The people do as God said to do and what happens? The Ammonites, Moabites and those of mount Seir, “helped to destroy another”. The people of Judah stood still and watched while the enemy killed each other!

You have to believe in God and what he says. We have to, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7).

And most of all, we have to believe. Our salvation rests upon our belief in God, His word and Jesus Christ as our Savior.

“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22).

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26)

Jehoshaphat gives us 5 things to remember and keep to heart when it comes to God, prayer and dealing with the enemy, the devil.

1) Let God be the judge of our enemies.

2) We are powerless against the enemy on our own.

3) We don’t know what to do against the enemy when we are without God. After all, the enemy, the devil there, “is no truth in him….for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33). But the devil, on the other hand is the author and publisher of all lies and confusion!

4) Always stay focused on God.

5) In mind, body, heart, soul and spirit believe in God and every single word of His.

If we keep these 5 points of Jehoshaphat and live them daily then our lives will permanently change.

Bill Hitchcock