Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

3/11/2013
As I readied myself to look again into the passage of Romans 8:1-14, I read the first couple of verses and sensed that there was something I had been missing in my previous studies. I therefore prayed that God would reveal His mind in me in wisdom, insight, and revelation. I prayed that He would grant me understanding of the verses.
    Then I realized that understanding, at least academic understanding, was not all that I needed. I needed, and prayed for, an enlightened heart so that I would know (as Paul prayed for the Ephesians in Eph. Ch. 1), experientially, the truths of this passage.
    As I prayed, I found my mind turning to my sons, Gabe and John. I prayed, that they would be granted the same insight and revelation into God’s truth. As I prayed, I found myself thinking about ways I could encourage or admonish them toward that end. As I did, a sense of hopelessness came upon me.
   I realized that their situation was utterly, overwhelmingly, hopeless. No amount of encouragement or admonishment from me would change their hearts in the least. It left me with a sense of an impossible burden.
    Then I realized that we are all, overwhelmingly without hope. Each one of our situations is dire, and destined to continue as they are, in a downward spiral away from God... unless He intervenes. We are dependent on Him for every need. He is our only hope. But then, we do have hope in every situation, but only in Him! He is our only hope! And, therefore, our first, last, and constant effort should be to pray with that in mind ("pray without ceasing").
    My first realization as an unbeliever who was being "awakened" from “sleep” 37 years ago was that I could not believe. The things of the Bible were utter nonsense to me. I realized then that, even if they were true, it didn't matter because I didn't believe them to be true. And how does one change that?
    Billy Graham, on TV one night, was telling me “all you have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved!” All? That’s all? All I have to do is believe? Wonderful (said with sarcasm), and unfortunately impossible.
    At that time, I didn't know that there actually was hope, but only in Him. Nonetheless, He heard me cry out from my helpless condition, “I don’t believe! If You’re real, I need help. Because if you’re real, I want to believe!” It was only then, through the miraculous intervention of God, that I was transformed into one of His children. (it wasn't instantaneous from my perspective. I don't know exactly when that transformation occured).
    I’m wondering if this isn't what God means when he says to us, “if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." I was made alive (spiritually) only after crying out to Him from an utterly helpless condition. Is it not true that without His intervention, even as Christians we are utterly helpless, and therefore must continue coming to Him with the outstretched hands of the beggar? Is that what it means to “walk by the Spirit”?
    God is amazing. As I was writing all of this, Denise came in from her walk and told me how she had been reading the story of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, in 2nd Chronicles 20.     There was a great and overwhelming multitude of enemies on their way to destroy Judah. Jehoshaphat immediately realized that the situation was hopeless without God’s intervention, so he proclaimed a fast in which all the people sought God’s help.
    Jehoshaphat’s prayer, from verses 5-12,  should be the model for our prayers. In it, He acknowledges that God is ruler over all so that none can stand against Him. He acknowledges what God has done in the past in bringing Judah through their many trials. He acknowledges that Judah was powerless against this coming multitude and didn't know what to do, and therefore their eyes were on God.
    Is this not our situation in all cases? Am I not powerless to change anything in someone else’s heart? Am I not even powerless to change anything in my own heart? There are "multitudes" coming against us in the form of temptations, weaknesses, shortcomings, and circumstances that we are powerless against and, therefore, our eyes must be on God as our only hope. And none can stand against Him.
    He is the all-wise, all-powerful God who knows our needs and knows how and when to meet them. May we be made aware of our needs (yes, we need Him, even for this), and look only to Him as the multitudes assail us.
    What a comfort that we are safe and secure in our Strong Father’s hands! He knows our manifold weaknesses, even in trusting Him. Even the multitude of our weaknesses will not stand against Him. He knows how to safely shepherd His blemished sheep, and lose not one. And He has promised to do it! He never fails. Never.