By Leo Sekoere
Jehoshaphat was an ancient King of Judah who succeeded his father, King Asa, and reigned 25 years. The word of God is truly living and active because His old story has a few things to teach us today. Let us first turn our bibles to the book of 2 Chronicles, the 20th Chapter.
Here, some men informed Jehoshaphat that a vast army (an alliance of 3 Kingdoms) had set out from Edom with the sole purpose of annihilating him and that they were drawing nearer and nearer. The bible tells us that Jehoshaphat was afraid-I know I would be too! I mean; everything about this circumstance calls for such a reaction, I also know that you know this situation. It may be less dramatic than an angry multitude of warriors but we often find ourselves in Jehoshaphat’s shoes: afraid and outnumbered.
So what then is the suitable reaction? What do we do? Do we curl up in helplessness, close our eyes and hope for a painless demise? Or do we stand and fight with all we’ve got?
Friend, we do neither. The truth is, when it comes to life we are all just impotent human beings in a battle that draws its existence from the spiritual realm. Paul makes this clear in 2Corinthians 10:3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.” In the 4th verse he goes on to say that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds”. All this proves to us that it is impossible to fight anything on earth without Divine Power. SO WHAT THEN DO WE DO?
We do as Jehoshaphat did:
*We “Set our faces to seek the Lord and proclaim a fast” (2Chronicles 20: 3).
*We admit our impotence to the omnipotent God in prayer and supplication (2Chronicles 20:6-11). Omni=all, Potent=powerful. Hey, this is our God! The Almighty, Self-Sufficient, Unlimited El Shaddai.
I love the impotent prayer of Jehoshaphat. In the same chapter, verse 6, he confesses the omnipotence of God. Nothing pleases God more than when His children stand in confidence, that is total faith, in his ability to move on our behalf and make things happen. Furthermore in verse 12 the king admits that his army has no power and that they do not know what to do…Jehoshaphat came to full acknowledgement of his impotence. Please note the order of importance! He magnifies God’s strong point (omnipotence) right at the beginning of his prayer and above his weakness. This King must’ve known a little something about 2Corinthians 12:9 because truly in his weakness the power of God was made perfect that’s why in verse 14 our God sends a word through Jahaziel to let him know that He will fight on his behalf. “Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, I will fight on your behalf” said our compassionate God. Ah my God is awesome!
See how the word from God turned this seemingly colossal disaster into nothing. The Lord also arms the king with foreknowledge before He reassures His own that He will fight on their behalf. WHAT A MIGHTY GOD!! When I read verse 17 I just felt praise in my spirit. My God is awesome! To my surprise Jehoshaphat, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem broke forth into praise too, “with a loud voice”-Verse 19.
Child of God you need to make this word yours and run with it right now! God is your deliverer and because you have admitted your impotence, He is going to act on your behalf.
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
The Lord has spoken what more do you need? Child of God Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed. Start praising God in advance because there’s a promise to hold on to. Verse 22 tells us that as they began to praise the Lord, His promise turned into an action. It all came to fruition, He set ambushes and the king’s enemies turned against each other and killed each other. Jehoshaphat’s Kingdom then became one of peace and rest on every side.
I pray that in whatever you are facing, you make your prayer of impotence. That’s where your help comes from.
