07/06/2022
We face trouble, and complex issues in our lives that we don’t know how to handle. Some of these are life threatening, and others frighten us with their enormity, but regardless of their severity, intensity, or size, we fear failure because our problems are beyond our ability, and we feel powerless against them. So, what do we do? We turn to the Lord our God for help; we lift our eyes unto the Lord. We read these words, and say we believe, but Is this how we behave, and if so do we trust, listen, believe, praise, and then expect him to act? Do we know in our hearts that our salvation is at hand… that the miracle is now?
“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.””
2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV
Trusting in the Lord to hear us is the first great act of prayer, and faith. If we don’t believe completely that He hears us then isn’t our prayer useless, and aren’t we just talking to ourselves. If we don’t trust that God hears us when we pray then what is prayer but mist and vapor? Friends we have nothing if we don’t have confidence in prayer. Unless we believe, and trust that God hears us when we cry out to Him, and that He will act, even if He says “No.” to our request, then we are simply grasping at the wind, and are without hope… we are lost.
Then, as we pray we need to still ourselves and listen for His voice. If we don’t listen, and hear the Lord answering us, then it is like dropping a stone into a crevice to determine how deep it is, but never hearing it hit bottom. God speaks to us, and we know by His voice that He is at work, but on occasion His silence can be the answer that we seek. Waiting to hear, quieting ourselves, and listening, becomes our faith in action. Action isn’t always motion… being still, listening without moving a muscle, this is also action… the action of a deep and abiding faith.
There have been problems in my life that I have brought before the Lord day after day, and once I have prayed I stilled myself, and listened for long periods of time… hearing only silence. Then the next day it was the same, and the same, and the same, until at last there came a voice… guidance… motion… and the reward for patience, trust, and an unwavering faith that perseverance brings. Yet it all relies on our faithfully listening. We are studying Jehoshaphat’s prayer this morning, but unlike the silence and perseverance of my prayer, His was answered quickly; yet both required that we listen…
“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.””
2 Chronicles 20:17 ESV
Whether we wait on our answer, or hear God’s voice right away, we need to believe He hears us, believe he will answer, and then believe He can, and will, do what He tells us. Prayer is just talk unless we believe in this progression.
“And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.””
2 Chronicles 20:20 ESV
Jehoshaphat’s prayer, like ours, has a life far beyond the moment when it is first prayed. A prayer doesn’t end until it is answered in full, it doesn’t end until it swirls upward with the smoke of incense before the throne of God, when He has worked out His answer, and is glorified by it. So it is that our prayers have a beginning and an end. They begin when we give voice to them, and end, when God is glorified by the completion of His answer.
“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”
Revelation 8:3-4 ESV
So we have vocalized our prayer, God has heard us, we have faithfully listened for His voice, He has answered, and we are waiting for the answer to be done… what should we do between that time when we hear God’s answer, and it comes to fruition? We should praise the Lord, sing to Him, and through our faith in Him believe it to be done.
“And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.”
2 Chronicles 20:22 ESV
Now we witness the miracle, or see God’s hand as He takes upon Himself the problem we have given over to Him in prayer. In the case of Jehoshaphat’s prayer, God turned his enemies against one another. What will He do in answer to ours? Will He get creative in His solution, or simply make it go away? Will His answer seem nearly as daunting to us as our original problem, and require great faith, or will He fight our battle for us with little to no action required on our part? It all depends on the lesson He desires us to learn in that moment… is He showing us who He is, or teaching us to be as He is? For Jehoshaphat, God showed Judah His might, and who Gecwas.
“For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.”
2 Chronicles 20:23 ESV
Our trust, and faith, should extend from the moment the first word of prayer leaves our lips, beyond our listening, past the answer, and through the glory of God’s doing as He promised, to the scent of our prayer rising up before the throne… our offering. Are we ready to pray as we should, and do we see that our prayer is more than a moment in our prayer closet, or chair… it is part and parcel to eternity itself. Each one should lead towards our salvation and righteousness, and glorify God forever.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for prayer, and teaching us that our prayers have lives far beyond their saying. Thank you for your Son Jesus who has taught us to pray, and taught us the hardship that often awaits us in your answer. Thank you for Jehoshaphat’s prayer that shows us how mighty, and creative, you are in rescuing us… in answering us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who converses with us in prayer, and who glorifies yourself in every answer. Praised be your name for each time we hear your voice, and for the depth of your silence as we wait upon you to answer us. Merciful are you to give us what we ask in the name of Jesus, and in accordance with your will. Purify us in the blood of Jesus, and wash our sins away as we come before you. Glorify yourself in us, and in every prayer we offer up to you. Call us your children, and announce your pleasure in us as we kneel before you. Hear us as we pray without ceasing, and let our faith be steadfast; glorifying you always in each one. Pronounce us worthy in judgement, and seat us before you for all eternity… alive and worshipping you amidst the thick cloud, and scent, of our endless swirling prayers.
“O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.”
Psalm 141:1-2, 8-10 ESV
Rich Forbes