Jahaziel Answers the Prayer
14 Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; 15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Enemies Destroy Themselves
20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were [e]routed. 23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, [f]garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.
There’s something to be said here about giving glory and praise to God. Before they ever went out for battle, as soon as God spoke to the people, they praised Him. They didn’t wait to see the results, and they didn’t need any further proof. God had spoken, and that was enough.
I don’t know if the response of the Levites inspired Jehoshaphat, but he gets this idea that they should sing songs to God as they went out to battle. God told them they wouldn’t even have to fight, and true to His word, by the time they got to where they could see the enemy, the enemy was all dead.
I mentioned the promises of God in His Word yesterday, and that’s one of the ways we hear from God. And whether we feel like we’ve heard from Him or not, give God praise anyway. There’s always something to be thankful for, and I’ve hear it said many times that the best way to start a prayer is with thanks.
Then when you’re done, give God the praise and glory. Don’t wait around for Him to do something first. Just start praising Him for what He has already done in your life. And if you hear from God, praise Him even more. You can’t go wrong with that, though I’m not saying praise him and he’ll do whatever you want. But whatever He does will be in your best interests when you are pursuing Him first.