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Writer's pictureBro. Caleb Taft

Morning Manna | 2 Chronicles 20:12 | Our Eyes are upon thee

2 Chronicles 20:12

12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.





This is the closing words of a prayer from King Jehosaphat, the predecessor to the throne of Judah, the Son of Asa, the fourth King of Judah. He was a faithful man who walked in the ways of the Lord, His name means Jehovah has Judged. By no coincidence that is how our verse opens, "O our God will thou not Judge." Jehosaphat had seen the Judge of all the earth do right all his life and honor his word that if a man or nation walked in his ways he would bless and prosper them. In the midst of his peaceful life, a messenger comes with some shocking news at the beginning of this chapter, "Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they bs in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi." These messages bring fear to the heart of Jehosaphat, and what he does next teaches us a valuable lesson, He prays.



He doesn't pray right away, first he "set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." [20:3]. Prayer should be our first response to such events in our lives. When a phone call or message has knocked the wind out of us and our hearts are filled with fear, when the enemy has advanced on our life and we are afraid we don't have the power, ability, or manpower to handle the soon coming attack, we need to pray. But perhaps first we should "Seek the LORD" and maybe even fast. Could you call your brothers and tell them the danger you are in and make it a corporal prayer like did Jehosaphat, then pray as he did?



His prayer starts with questions about God's person, "O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?" Then he asks questions about God's power, "and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?" But something happens halfway through this prayer, his question marks disappear when he recalls God's promises, "And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help." He recalls the dedicatory prayer of Solomon that the Lord honored and in his remembering of God's promise there is no question. Many times our prayers start with questions, but as we pour out our hearts to God, we are reminded of his faithfulness and his promises. We not only receive help by prayer but often times even in the midst of prayer we are helped, as it seems Jehosapaht was. 



Lastly notice how he ends this prayer, "for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." [20:12] He confesses his inability and lack of wisdom about the current situation but he was never looking to those things to save him in the first place, or he would have had no need to pray. He closes his prayer by letting God know that their eyes are upon him, that he is looking to God's person, for he is the right judge of all the earth and he is too good to do bad. They are looking to his power, for there is no army that can compare to his might. They are looking to his promises, for he has never broken his word. The more they look to him, the smaller their problems grow in the light of the one they trust. 





Man Praying

We can't leave today without letting you know that this prayer was answered. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and this was God's answer to such a prayer. "And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." God answered this earnest prayer with a word from heaven. Jehosaphat had spent a great deal of his time taking God's word to God's people in the midst of their trouble [17:7-10]. Now in the midst of his trouble, God brings his word to him. Are you under attack dear Christian? Has a current advance from the enemy within startled you? I have often forgotten that there are enemies within and a sudden battle of temptation almost causes me to despair. What do we do in such times? Pray! Lord, I don't have the power to overcome this, but didn't you say "Sin shall not have dominion over you?" Didn't you say that we are free from Sin? Recall his person, he's too good to let you go. Recall his power, he is stronger than the strongest temptation. Recall his promises and rest with your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

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