Himself had fought against the enemies of Israel , the fear of G-d came over them . 30 So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace, for his G-d had given him rest on every side .  

In verse 3 you can see that the king freaked out right? 

No, he didn’t freak out but he was afraid and for good reason, so he first proclaimed a fast for all of Judah .

How did Jehoshaphat ask for help in verse 6? 

By expressing his confidence in G-d! Then notice again in verses 7-11 He reminded G-d of His promise to Abraham and of Israel ’s obedience in not invading their enemy’s land. 

In verse 12 how did Jehoshaphat ask for help?  

He humbly confessed their situation… They had no power and they admitted they didn’t know what to do.

In verse 13 what did they do? 

They gathered together and sought the Lord. In other words they had one desperate prayer meeting! 

Then in verses 14,15 what did they expect? 

Can’t we expect G-d to take on the battle for us?  Yes we can, by prayer (asking G-d in our own words to help). So ask yourself this question if you have a situation in your life you need help with that you are NOT praying about.

Say self, am I not praying for this situation because I don’t believe G-d is big enough to handle it?   Or is it that I don’t think He cares, or I think He has more important things to do?  If you are honest with yourself you know He can, you know He cares, and you know He wants to help.  So what stops you from asking, from praying? Write your answer.

Consider this example: You are about to lose your home. Someone offers you the money you need to get caught up and you never need to pay them back.  All you had to do is sit-down and write a short letter explaining how you got into the situation, agree not to do it again, and simply ask for the money. You know you would take the time to sit down and write, take the letter to the post office, and you would probably say a little prayer before you dropped it in the mailbox, right?

So tell me, is G-d running a little short on cash when you are in trouble, or are you allowing satan and the rulers of this darkened world to deceive you by what you see and hear?  Satan wants us to rebel against G-d instead of turning towards Him.  The choice is always ours. But you must ask G-d to help you.  

Let’s go back to verses 16-17. Note that G-d gives them a plan and then a promise.  G-d knows when you can’t handle a situation.  He also waits patiently to see if you will ask Him for help.  Then He usually waits to see if you will trust Him enough to wait until He takes care of the situation for you, or if you’ll just decide to take care of the situation yourself. G-d is never late, but He is rarely early. Waiting is part of obedience and can be hard.

Romans 12:12 Be glad for all G-d is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

Hebrews 10:36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do G-d's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.

Can you think of a situation where a person or persons in the Bible did not wait for the Lord and we are still dealing with the consequences of their disobedience to this day?

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