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Aug 04, 2024 06:00am

Powerful Prayer

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Imagine this: As ruler of your country, you get word that three different armies just entered your territory. This is not a meet-and-greet situation—this is imminent war. They have already overtaken one of your cities. You are vastly outnumbered, and you have only a few days before they reach you and your city. You are afraid. As the leader of your people, what do you do?

This is not a fictional scenario. This was an actual event recorded in the Bible. The leader’s name was King Jehoshaphat, and his people were the Israelites. They were put in an impossible situation–a desperate situation. But what they didn’t know was this: that’s exactly where God wanted them. You see, God loves it when His kids are pitted against a giant . . . or, in this case “giants.”

Common sense told King J (short for Jehoshaphat) he didn’t have time to call a meeting and prepare for war. This called for a different strategy: fasting and prayer. The fast would be a time in which people would deny themselves food and water in order to seek the Lord through prayer. This act of denial is a spiritual act of confessing sin and turning to God for help. Next, King J gathered his people for a very humble and strategic prayer. The prayer wasn’t a “Help us, Lord!”–it was a powerful, purposeful prayer with three key parts that turned the head of the Creator of the Universe.

First, King J weaved his knowledge of God into the prayer by praising Him as the God of his ancestors, the God in heaven, and the ruler over all kingdoms on earth (including the ones about to attack him!). He honored God’s power and strength. Friends, when you take the time to worship God for who He is before you give your desperate requests, this is worship at its best.

Second, King J weaved in knowledge and gratitude for all the times God has intervened on the Israelites’ behalf— anytime disaster fell upon them, they cried out to God, and He saved them.

Third, he ended his prayer in the most humble, most dependent way: “We don’t know what to do. So we look to you for help.”

Friends, there’s something you need to know about God. He has a heart for heartfelt, desperate prayers. He has a heart for people who look to Him, and Him alone. These two circumstances got God’s attention in big ways. After King Jehoshaphat’s prayer, God spoke through a prophet in the assembly and, in my opinion, gave one of the best pep talks of all time. In fact, this pep talk wasn’t just limited to the Israelites —it’s something we can recall and remember when we’re up against a giant in our lives. In fact, I am going to rewrite God’s message, except this time, it’s to you. Personalize this—where you see the blank, insert your name.

“Listen to me ______. Don’t be afraid of this enemy. This battle is not your battle—it’s mine. Face your enemy, but you will not fight your enemy. Just stand firm in your faith and trust me. Don’t give way to fear or discouragement. I am with you.”

I don’t know about you, friends, but this charge by the Lord would compel me to lace up my sandals, tuck my cloak in my belt, and sound my battle cry! The funny thing is this: King J didn’t run into battle willy-nilly. After consulting his people, he changed up the marching order, putting his praise and worship band out first. You guys, they marched to battle with the most powerful weapon of all: their voices praising God.

It takes a lot of faith to put your praise and worship band first when marching out to battle. Unbeknownst to any of them, as soon as they started to praise God, God set ambushes upon the three armies, and they started to attack each other! By the time the Israelites arrived at the battle site, every single person was dead. There was no one left to fight. God did the impossible, friends! Not only that, it took them three days to gather the plunder from the thousands upon thousands who lay dead in the valley. It was an absolute miracle of God.

This is the power of prayer. This is the power of praise and worship. This is the power of believing God is who He says He is. Don’t miss out on opportunities for God to work miracles in your lives, friends. Talk to Him often. Pray to Him throughout your day through short breath prayers. But, don’t neglect those longer, purposeful prayers that can compel the God of the Universe to act: praise Him for who He is, thank Him for what He has done for you, and petition Him to work in your life.

Sometimes, God puts us in desperate situations so we will look to Him and Him alone to save us. You don’t have to be perfect. King J wasn’t. The Israelites weren’t. You just have to be willing to seek Him with all your heart . . . because when you do, you find Him. That’s His promise.

And that’s when miracles happen.