Jehoshaphat's Prayer

2 Chronicles 20: 5-12

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said:

"O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying, 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, 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 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."


Wow - what a prayer... He reminds God of who HE is and what HE has done and he directs all of Israel to seek the LORD in this prayer saying, "All eyes are on YOU, O God."

Now look at God's response:

• 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17-18

He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! 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, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "
Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

Do we allow God to do battle for us (even in prayer)? Do we worship - even before the battle has begun? Read the rest of the story and see where the singing and praise comes in - so cool.

I'm off to a conference this weekend so I'll have more on Sunday night! Hope you are benefiting somehow from this 'Devotional Blog' that is dedicated to the LORD and His WORD!

Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

Walking In Your Own House?

Is your house dedicated to the LORD? How do you walk in your own house? What kind of friends do you 'hang' with or take 'counsel' from? All grammar errors aside, I was pondering this Psalm in the light of those questions for myself today. Sometimes the hardest place for us to walk blameless [upright] is in our own house. How about you?

• Psalm 101:1-6

Of David. A psalm.

1 I will sing of Your love and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless [upright] life— when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless [upright] heart.
3 I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless [ upright] will minister [counsel] to me. [emphasis mine]

Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

Please Be Seated!

After spending the last two hours in God’s Word, I am back at the place of this one verse that the LORD is speaking:

• Psalm 46:10

"BE STILL and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The best way to be attentive to the LORD – is to be still. I am to be still for at least another week. My own thoughts at this hour, however, are to plunge into an idea that I have had. I’ve thought it was a good one – with right motives – with a right heart – and yet I hear God saying, “Be still, Stephanie, sit down and listen, and LET ME ACT on your behalf.”

Look who gets fed or blessed or taught here in this passage:

• John 6:10-11

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. [emphasis mine]

I wonder, on that day, did the disciples ever eat any of that food? Or were they so busy distributing [even doing good] and picking up crumbs that they might never have been fed by the Master?

Our first thought – or our first reaction to something – may not always be God’s intention or even His move. Being ‘still’ for a time - sitting down – can show us if it was or it was not.

So I am choosing to be still and listen attentively, and wait first!

LORD, I’m sitting at Your feet, waiting and listening to Your voice.

Choosing JOY,

Stephanie