Now the same thing Jehoshaphat is doing here. He took this imminent threat of these three enemy nations to the house of God and prayed:
“O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple for you. They said, ‘whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”
2 Chronicles 20: 6-12
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My God! What is this? This is sure one of the most powerful, most comprehensive and most effective prayer you can find in the bible and I have ever heard. And this is why I will never get tired of reading or preaching from it. I love it! Moreover, Jehoshaphat is one of my heroes in the scriptures; my role model. He loved God so much, and God had in return showed much respect for him. You remember when he joined King Ahab of Israel to go and retake Ramoth-gilead; an Israelite city then occupied by the Arameans? As they were preparing for the war, Ahab summoned his four hundred prophets to ask them how the battle will go. After their prophecy of victory, which has been corrupted by the spirit of lies, Jehoshaphat further asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD around, too? I would like to ask him the same question.” Then they called in Micaiah son of Imiah.
Did you hear that? Hundreds of opinions have already been given, promising victory, by this guy was not satisfied and would not step an inch without the full assurance of divine guidance and protection. That was the extent of his trust and love for God. You already know the outcome of that war. Though cornered by the enemy forces, Jehoshaphat was divinely, miraculously spared, and the ungodly King Ahab of Israel killed. Those that honor Him will always be honored and protected! True!
Also look at the battle against Moab. The king of Israel (Ahab’s son) mobilized Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to go and fight against Moab for refusing to be bringing tributes after the death of Ahab. On the way, after seven days walk through the desert, there was no water for the horses and the soldiers. Everybody was dying of thirst and confused, but this same Jehoshaphat also asked a similar question “Is there no prophet of the LORD with us? If there is we can ask the LORD what to do.” And they called in Prophet Elisha. Now I want you to remark what the prophet of God said when he came. He told the king of Israel straight that if not for Jehoshaphat, he wouldn’t have bothered to attend to him (king of Israel). Then he gave them the word of the LORD, “This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water. You will have plenty for yourselves and for your cattle and your other animals. But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab!”
And surely, the next morning, without any rain or wind, the water came in a great way! And not just for them to drink, it was also used to ensnare their enemies; who were well defeated. This was the extent of Jehoshaphat’s dealings with God. He loved, respected and meticulously followed the way of the God of Israel. He also did everything in his power to make Israel worship the only true God. He destroyed the idols in the land, ensured justice and sent out people to teach the laws of God throughout his kingdom. It is good we get this background so that we will know who was making these supplications that we are about to dissect and imitate. Now, let’s go back. He prayed against the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir (Edomites).
Prayer Points:
Pray for forgiveness of sins and ask Him to come into your life.
Pray that God would increase His love in your heart.
Go to Him in prayer, spreading your request, case before Him.
You may declare a fast if you are led.
You can also do these as a people, a nation.
Chapter Two
God of Heaven and Earth
Jehoshaphat rightly began this most important prayer by acknowledging and declaring that God of his ancestors is Jehovah; the God of Israel, the creator and controller of the heaven and earth. He called Him the Almighty and all-powerful. Wow! That was a good way to start; a solid foundation. Your knowledge, faith and declaration of God and His power is very vital to your success at the time of battle. True! You can definitely not trust the person you have not known. You have to know the person, His personality, antecedents and character before you can be able to determine his ability and what he will do. What do you know of God? Do you know Him enough to trust Him always? Yes, right understanding will always bring outstanding results. Soldiers will only follow a trusted general or commander to a battle field. Let’s read directly from this great man before proceeding:
“O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!”
2 Chronicles 20:6
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Did you see that? This guy was not just declaring the greatness of God, he personally owned Him. He called Him LORD and also the God of his ancestors! This is indeed a great trust. Please we will come to this later. Let’s first look at Him as the owner and controller of the heaven and earth; that is the universe.
Heaven
God is the maker of the heaven and the earth. He created them and everything in them. He made everything both the visible and the invisible. And I hope you know that the invisible world is much larger, real and powerful than the visible. Like the world of God will put it, what you don’t see is real and permanent but the things you see are temporal and ephemeral. And this is true. God made all these things. He created the heaven. He made the angels, the great cherubim and seraphim, the mighty archangels, the unnamed very powerful living creatures. One of these creatures in heaven can over run the whole earth in a split of second. And these are just the ones we were made to know through the scriptures. There could be more. He created Satan and all his fallen angels. That is your God! This is the One that is going into this battle with you.
God made the firmaments, the skies, the sun, the moon, the stars, the discovered and yet to be discovered planets. I hope you know that the firmament has no beginning and no end. The sun and the moon are each so many time larger that the earth. And the sun cannot come a bit close to our earth; otherwise everybody will just melt away in seconds. What of the starts? The smallest is also larger than the earth and you have millions of them. In fact, they are uncountable! All these were made by the One we are talking about here. Listen to how John described His throne in heaven in the book of Revelation 4: 3-11:
“The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones – jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lampstands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion; the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’
Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the on sitting on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever. And they lay down their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
That is the majesty of your God and the glory of His throne. From here he oversees and controls all that happen in the whole universe. Nothing can ever take Him by surprise. The eyes you see all around His throne simply shows that He knows and sees everything before, during and after they have happened. In fact, He effectively controls the happenings. Now, when He sits on this throne, tell me who or what can defeat you in this life? Let’s go on.
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Earth
God made the earth and all you see on it. The mountains, the valleys, the great oceans, the lakes, springs and waterfalls, vegetations, the deserts, the birds of the air, the animals, fishes and other millions of creatures in the waters. Up till now, man is yet to discover all the creatures in the water. Every day, we hear of new ones or new species. Take a look at the great oceans of the world, where do they finally empty into? Even, the animals and reptiles, have we discovered all?
Look at what happened at Lake Moondarra in the North-East of Australia the other day when a yet to be identified extraordinarily long snake fought with a large crocodile for more 5 hours, killed, ate it and crawled back into the lake. The world, the residents of Mount Isa and the snake experts are still studying that particular monster. Some say it’s a type of python, but that thing is almost 50 meters long. Even as it was on land digesting the very large croc, its body stretches far into the middle of the lake. We don’t know all that God has made.
Men, nations, kingdoms, thrones, armies, weapons, empires; great and small, are all His creation. There is no throne, no power, no wisdom, no science, no discovery, no wealth and no possession without Him. He dethrones and enthrones as He wishes. Remember when powerful kings like Nebuchadnezzar dared Him; He dethroned him and sent him to the bush to go and learn common sense and loyalty from the animals for seven years. Hear the words of this hitherto proud and boastful king when he was eventually restored to his position after the ‘training’ in the wild:
“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He has the power to do as he pleases among the angels of heaven and with those who live on earth. No one can stop him or challenge him, saying, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’
When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and officers sought me out, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the king of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud.”
Daniel 4:34-37
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Wow! What an experience. What a hard way to learn. God miraculously preserved this man’s throne, kingdom and staff throughout those seven years in the bush. Thank God he repented and was restored. Imagine, if he had been left permanently in the wild, maybe by today the zoologists would have been battling to explain the specie of his offspring between human, chimpanzee and other wild beasts. God rules over all! Truly, nobody can challenge Him!
God created and owns all the gold, silvers, minerals, etc. I heard the wealth in the Dead Sea alone will take hundreds of years for Israel finish. Then imagine the immense, immeasurable wealth in all the great waters of the world. But how again do you even explain that strange sea that take in water but does not give out? God made all these. Jehoshaphat was right when He called Him the God in heaven and on earth, and the ruler of all the kingdom of men! I concur!
God of Our Ancestors
Jehoshaphat’s trust in God did not come from the blues. He learnt from his ancestors and as we had earlier seen from personal experience, encounters; personal testimonies. Though Israelites have a very unique way of passing to their children and subsequent generations their history, culture, values, faith, etc. They are experts in oral history. And even God sometimes instructs them to set up monuments to remember events and victories or make sure they tell and teach the next generations the stories behind some events, feasts, ceremonies, monuments, names, etc.
For example, look at what He told them about the yearly celebration of the feast of Passover: “During these festival days each year, you must explain to your children why you are celebrating. Say to them, ‘This is a celebration of what the LORD did for us when we left Egypt.” Did you hear that? Pass the information and the faith to your next generations forever! Yes, that was exactly what He was telling them there. And the Israelites still celebrate and obey that instruction till date. I don’t know of any people, race, nation that preserve culture, heritage and faith like the Jews. And I want to believe that Jehoshaphat had a dose of this as he was growing up.
Now, all these formed the faith of this young ruler in the God of his ancestors. He heard of how God with strong hand and great wealth brought his ancestors up from Egypt. He was told how all the first born of Egypt were slaughtered by that angel in the night. He heard how the king of Egypt and all his horse men perished in the sea; while pursuing the people of God. They must have told him how the Red sea and River Jordan parted ways for his ancestors. He heard how God fed them with manna and quail and water from the rock. He heard that their sandals and clothes did not wear out throughout that journey. He heard how God miraculously healed them through the brazen serpent. He heard how the LORD mysteriously and miraculously disorganized, displaced and defeated their enemies. In fact, he has been hearing all that God did for and with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the subsequent generations. And now he proudly calls Him, “The God of my ancestors, my LORD!”
Yes, if God did not fail his ancestor, then He will not fail Jehoshaphat. Faith is built on the word of God. Faith is always built on testimonies and experiences. If God did it yesterday, He will also do it again because He cannot change. The bible said that He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Listen, I’m sure He will not fail you in this battle that you are going through. Don’t be afraid! He is the maker and the controller of the heaven and the earth. He is the ruler of all the kingdoms of the world, of the waters and those under them. Praise God!
Almighty and Powerful
As you go into this battle, you must have it in mind as King Jehoshaphat that our God; the Supreme Commander of the forces of heaven and earth is the Almighty and the most powerful, and that no one can stand against Him. True. Nobody! This correct understanding is very crucial if you must win. Nobody can win Him in a battle. No power can displace Him. He is higher, bigger, stronger and mightier than all. Jehoshaphat had this understanding and information as he knelt down and made that monumental supplication for God’s intervention that night. All these helped to reduce the tension within Him. He knew that the person he is approaching is capable and willing to deliver him and his people. Do you have this kind of confidence in God? Do you see Him as the LORD, your LORD, the Almighty and most powerful? Get my book Power of Midnight Prayer now to increase you faith and confidence in God. It’s available on all major book dealers including Amazon.
Prayer Points:
Pray that God would reveal Himself through this period.
Pray for His power and almightiness to be established in this battle.
