Some men came and told Jehoshaphat [King of Judah], "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, for the other side of the sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar (that is, En Gedi.)" Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
[Jehoshaphat stood up in the temple and prayed to God, who had given the land to the Israelites, who] have lived in it and built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, "If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.
"But now here are the men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord (20:2-12).
As they stood there together, waiting upon the Lord, the Spirit came upon one of the men in the assembly, and he spoke to the king and to all the assembly: This is what the Lord says to you: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's...you will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you....Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you" (vv. 15-17).
Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army....and the Lord gave them cause to rejoice over their enemies...The fear of the Lord came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
There are three essential elements to the prayer of Jehoshaphat: (1) praise to the God of heaven and earth and remembrance of His past deeds toward Israel, recalling how God had led them safely through the desert to the land of promise; (2) waiting to hear what the Lord would speak in this particular situation, not just assuming that they knew what to do; and (3) admitting that they did not know what to do, but that their eyes were upon the Lord.
I have a friend who is filing for divorce after 45 years of a semi-abusive relationship. She is finally convinced that nothing will ever change, and that she does not want to live out the rest of her life in this situation. As she moves forward, her friends are saying, "How will you live? You don't have a plan; you are too old to get a job....etc." It is true that she does not have a "plan," so to speak -- but she has sought counsel for years from people who pray and seek the Lord. And without a single exception, every one of those people have advised her not to remain in this marriage--even bishops and priests have told her that she has no marriage. Up until now, she has been afraid to leave because she does not know how she will survive. But having no other options except continued misery, she has decided to move forward, trusting God to sustain her: I do not know what to do, but my eyes are upon You.
Every situation is different; none of us can really know what to do in some situations where we are continually threatened by evil and oppression. But Jehoshapat's prayer is wonderful: I will remember what God has done for me in the past; I will wait upon His answer; I will confess my own ignorance and helplessness in the situation, and my eyes will be upon Him.
This kind of trust cannot fail, for God "hears the cry of the poor," and who is more poor than someone whose enemy has sworn to destroy them? In Scripture, all pagan worship is based essentially on the idea that something we do will "work:" magic, sacrifice, food for the Deity, reason, mysticism, trances, or giving alms. In Israel, on the other hand, worship begins with holy reverence (called 'fear of the Lord'), faith that the God of Israel will do in the present what He has done in the past, trust, love -- and waiting upon the Lord to act.
I don't know if either America or Israel is still capable of worship and waiting upon the Lord -- but as individuals, we can all stand and pray the prayer of Jehoshaphat.
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