After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 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 20:1–12

Introduction: Self-Sufficient Prayerlessness and Self-Praise
We live in a culture that promotes self-sufficiency. In fact it is the “self-made” people that are often commended and celebrated. This self-sufficiency saturates every sphere of life. There is an unspoken expectation that your worth and your importance is determined by your ability to do what you want when you want to. 

And, on top of that, there is kind of a shame factor if things aren’t going so well, right? You don’t want to be the one struggling at your job. You don’t want to be the one whose marriage isn’t going so well, or whose parenting is full of trouble, or the one overcome by anxiety or loneliness. You don’t want to admit that you’re really struggling with your suffering or that you feel so sad you normally don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, or that you just can’t seem to beat that particular sin. 

And so, we continue the charade of self-sufficiency by buying things on demand with “one-click” from Amazon. We continue posting the happy pictures on social media. We keep telling people “we’re good” when inside we want to crumble. We hide our sin. We keep pushing through, even though we know we feel the burden of our double-lives catching up to us. And perhaps more dangerous than these initial games we play is when we begin to believe them. 

We work up enough energy to do better for a while and so instead of turning to Jesus with our insufficiency, we begin to feel proud about our ability. We begin to believe we can actually go about this life in our own strength and stamina. Sure, we would never say that, but practically we live as self-sufficient atheists who transform into desperate, dependent Christians for a couple hours on Sunday. 

And this culture of self-sufficiency is always at odds with a gospel that frees us to “boast in our weakness” as Paul does in 2 Corinthians. This kind of self-sufficiency always leads to prayerlessness because we are busy working to show we are able, rather than admitting we are not and pleading for help from our Father. This kind of self-sufficiency can only lead to prideful self-praise or paralyzed self-pity. 

So, my prayer for us this morning is that God might set us free from any kind of pursuit of self-sufficiency and set us free from any kind of shame we have that we are weak, and that he would help us draw near to him in dependent prayer and praise. 

God’s People Pray (vv. 1–12)

As we come to the scene in 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat has just finished with some reforms in Judah to bring God’s people back to right worship. We may be tempted to think that everything will go perfectly from here on out because this king has earned some points with God.

But, God has further faith to build in this king and this people, and in verses 1–2 the king gets news from some messengers that a “great multitude” is coming against them and is probably only about 15 miles away. This is a serious enemy with serious power to destroy Judah. The odds are stacked against God’s people. 

So, the king hears the news, and how does he react? The Bible so helpfully records that he was afraid. Man, this helps me. So often we feel—as good, reformed folks—that we can’t admit that we are overwhelmed with sin, or suffering, or circumstances. 

Our family has experienced suffering over the last eight years in some pretty profound ways, and I can’t tell you how many times I just felt so ashamed for how afraid I was or how weak I felt. I thought I had to put on a brave, self-sufficient face. But here, the Bible records the king of the nation and his fear. He’s human. There’s a big army coming. They are in trouble. And so he’s afraid. So, how does he deal with this fear? 

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.—2 Chronicles 20:3–4

His response is to seek the Lord. And not only to seek the Lord himself, but to call all of the people to seek the Lord with him. There’s a big problem, and he knows they need their big God to help them. Notice two things about this: 

1. His first instinct is to pray. He doesn’t call his commanders together. He doesn’t seek to strategize or ask other countries to help them. His first instinct is to pray. Do you believe that God can do more in a moment than you can do with hours of planning?
2. He doesn’t hide this problem or try to pretend he’s strong enough to deal with it on his own. Instead, he admits the problem and his own weakness by calling all the country together to seek the Lord. Do you trust the Lord and his power so much that you are willing to admit your fear to others and ask them to join you in your trials seeking the Lord? 

And notice that at the end of his prayer he is still in a place of complete dependence on the Lord (20:12): 

“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.”

He ends his prayer by confessing their weakness and their ignorance about what to do—and says that they are looking to God alone for answers. Notice that he says, “O our God.” This is a personal plea to a powerful, personal God. This is not a prayer to some deity out there, but to one that is in their midst as his Name dwells in the temple. 

So, if you feel weak and confused about whatever life is throwing at you, turn to the strong and all-knowing God and ask for help. Ask other believers to join you in prayer. Spend more time talking to God than you do typing in Google. In Jesus, God is profoundly near to you, as now you are the temple where his Spirit dwells.

Let’s look at the elements of Jehoshaphat’s prayer to see where this king goes when God’s people are most desperate for help. 

In verses 5–6, he recounts God’s power as the One who dwells in the heavens and rules over nations. He proclaims that no one can withstand God’s power. 

Pastor Jason often told me in seminary that fear comes when we look at our circumstances and then look at our ability. But faith comes from looking at our circumstances and then looking at God’s ability. 

King Jehoshaphat knows he is powerless, but here he is reminding himself that this “great multitude” is a small thing for the God who rules over the nations.

In verses 7–9, he prays to God, reminding himself of the past ways God has personally delivered his people. God had driven out the inhabitants of the land. God had told them to build a temple for his Name and to call out for help when they needed it, and God has promised that he would hear them. And notice how Jehoshaphat references Abraham as a friend. 

All throughout 2 Chronicles the themes of God’s covenants with God’s people are a main thread of the story. Jehoshaphat is a king in the line of David, a line that God has promised to sustain. Abraham was a friend of God, a friend that God had made a covenant to bless.  

So, here, as Jehoshaphat recalls the past ways God has helped, he is recalling them in light of the covenant love of God for his people. God’s past promises and past deliverances give Jehoshaphat hope for the present need of deliverance. 

And finally in verses 10–11, after recounting God’s power and promises and past deliverances, Jehoshaphat asks God to act now for the sake of his name and the good of his people. It is good to remind ourselves of the power and promises of God, and then it is good to simply plead for help with whatever hard thing is right in your face.

Maybe you thinking right now, “Well, God has never exactly driven out whole countries for me. I’ve never seen his power at work like that.” 

Let me remind you from just one verse the ways God has worked on your behalf. 

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.—Romans 8:32

God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up so that our sins could be cast as far as the east is from the west. God overcame our hardness of hearts by causing us to be born again by the Spirit. God granted us faith to believe the gospel. God sent his Spirit to live inside of us to help us see and savor Jesus. 

If God did not spare his own Son, will he not graciously give us all things we need to be conformed to his image and to be brought to glory? We can cast our cares on him because in Jesus, we know God cares for us. So, Christian, we look back to past grace in Jesus on the cross and admit our need and our hope in his future grace in our lives because certainly he will continue to give us all things we need to make it to face to face glory with him … and because of that hope we can pray desperate, hopeful prayers for our present needs. 

God’s Presence and Provision (vv. 13–17)

So, Jehoshaphat and Judah plead with God because of his power and promises. And then notice how God draws near with his presence and provision. 

In verse 13, as the crowd is waiting for help from God to save them from destruction, God sends his Spirit with an answer. Notice how God draws near and responds to their prayer. This again, is a personal God sending personal help. And notice that God sends his Spirit upon one of these people whom Jehoshaphat has called together. The answer doesn’t come through the king, but comes through one of the people. We cannot underestimate the importance of our gathering together to seek the Lord. We cannot underestimate our need for each other for wisdom. 

The Spirit comes in verses 14–17 and comforts them with the news that God will fight for them and be with them. He will draw near to them and be with them in this battle, and they will not even need to fight. Verse 17 is the culmination of this news: 

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.”

God loves to respond to the desperate prayers of his people with his presence and provision, because he gets the glory for being the only one who can help them. 

Is it amazing to you that we have a God who draws near to his people with fresh fillings of his presence and loves to grant them the provision they need? And notice that when God draws near his people, he calls them to trust him. “I will fight for you. I will sustain you. I will keep you because of my covenant love for you.” He doesn’t call them to self-sufficiency. He calls them to dependence. 

Do you believe this in the deepest pits of suffering? Do you believe this when you are overwhelmed with anxiety? Do you believe this when other people have lied about you and are slandering you? Do you believe this when you are overwhelmed with guilt and shame for sin? 

Do you believe that because of Jesus—when you ask God for help—he will draw near to you by his Spirit to lead you, comfort you, sustain you, and help you however you need? He will. 

Now, it might not be in the way that you expect. It might not be in the timing you expect. It might be in a way that turns your expectations upside down. But, God has shown us his care at the cross and he will meet desperate prayers with fresh grace by his Spirit to lead us through the overwhelming conflicts that seem hopeless. 

God’s People Praise (vv. 18–28)

Now, the rest of the story in verses 18–28 is the story of the peoples’ response to God’s presence and provision with praise. 

They praise him immediately in verse 18 when they get the news. Then, in verse 20, the king reminds them to believe the word of God and to march out to the battle site. And to show that he believes God’s word, he sends the choir to front of the battle lines to declare with loud singing the steadfast love of the Lord (v.23). Can you imagine sending the choir to the front lines of battle, unless you have a deep trust that God is going to fight for you? 

And as they begin to sing, the Lord fights on their behalf. Their enemies all fall and they walk with plunder that takes three days to move, and they return to the temple praising the Lord with such vigor that they name the place the “Valley of Blessing,” because there they blessed the Lord. 

Now perhaps you say, “Well it seems like he gave them sure victory so it was easy for them to praise, but I don’t see sure victory.” 

But, let’s remember that God has promised us sure victory in the gospel as well. There is nothing up for grabs for those in Christ. Sure victory is coming. Our sin has been defeated at the cross and will be done away with in glory. Our suffering is working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison. Our final enemy, death, now serves us as our usher that brings us to the presence of the God we love, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

And so, as God meets us with his sustaining presence, we can rejoice in our sufferings, knowing God is working the endurance in us we need to make it to glory. As we go through refining trials, we can rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and full of glory because we know that we will soon see the final victory of the Lord forever. 

As God sustains us with his presence in response to our prayers, we can respond with praise, no matter the circumstances because we know he will fight on our behalf and bring us to glory. 

And the text gives us three helpful ways to lean into the sustaining grace of God. Gathering together as the people of God to pray to the Lord, hearing the word of the Lord, and singing songs to the Lord are the time-tested ways that we draw near to God for his sustaining grace in our lives and the sure ways that he has promised to bring us to glory.  

Application: Blood-Bought Prayer and Praise
So, as Christians, the way we run from self-sufficiency and self-praise is to admit our weakness and draw near to God in prayers that recall his power and promises. And then as God draws near to us and provides all we need, we resound with praise. 

I want to end our message with a time of prayer before we sing our last song. Let me entice you to prayer with some promises of the gospel that give us confidence to pray.

Because of Jesus...

• Hebrews 4 – we receive grace, mercy, and well-timed help1
• Peter 5:7 – we can cast our cares upon the Lord, knowing that he cares for us
• Ephesians 6 – the Spirit empowers/carries our prayer in this war of spiritual life.
• Revelation 8 – our prayers are a pleasing aroma to God.
• Romans 8 – even when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit prays on our behalf

And we know from 1 Corinthians 15 that because of Jesus, we have assured victory. We will be finally raised with Christ. Therefore, in the midst of our greatest trials and in the face of our greatest enemy, we pray with hope because we can say:

“O Death where is your sting?”—knowing that God will make us rejoice forever in his presence over our final enemy, death. 

We pray because all the promises of God for our sustaining now and eternity with him are “Yes” in Jesus. We pray because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken, even though sin, suffering, and Satan will try to shake us. 

Genuine prayer is the opposite of self-sufficiency. Genuine prayer is our means of leaning into to God’s promises and presence and provision to us in Christ.

And as we pray, and God draws near in his presence and power by the Spirit and because of the blood of Jesus, we get his power, presence and provision and he receives our praises.

Close with a time of prayer and closing song.