January 30: 2 Chronicles 20

PRAYER AND EXPECTATIONS

When we pray, we should always expect God to answer our prayer, but we must avoid the temptation to tell Him how to do it.

then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

2 Peter 2:9 ESV

The victory God gave Jehoshaphat and the people was miraculous. They would only need to trust the LORD to be with them. This was His battle, and He would deliver them. They were not to “fear or be dismayed” as they went out to face the enemy. This message had been delivered by the Spirit-filled prophet Jahaziel. Jehoshaphat embraced this message and reinforced it as the people prepared to go out.

And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”

2 Chronicles 20:20 ESV

When we look at the ways that God delivers people in the Bible, we see that He works in diverse ways. Here, He delivers Jehoshaphat and the people without them having to raise a sword or fight a single person. He delivers David and Israel from Goliath, but David has to swing his sling. God causes the walls of Jerico to fall, but only as the children of Israel obediently walk around them for seven days. Moses raises his staff and the Red Sea parts. He strikes the rock and water flows. When he repeats this at another place, rather than speaking to the rock as commanded, the water flows but he is severely reprimanded. When Israel gets to the overflowing Jordan river, God again parts the waters, but this time the priests have to enter the water with the ark of the covenant. What we see throughout Scripture is that God delivers His people, but on His terms and in His way.

It is tempting to try to figure out how God is going to deliver us. We develop certain expectations as we do this. We may even allow our expectations to guide our prayers. For instance, we may assume that the answer to our prayers involves God providing more resources or money. He may instead provide another way. We may be praying about needing food. He may send a friend who offers cash for grocery shopping, or He may send a friend with food stuffs for the pantry. When we develop expectations about how we feel God should provide, we will inevitably be disappointed with the answer, since it does not fit our criteria. Sometimes, these expectations will even prevent us from seeing the answer God has provided. God is more than able to generously meet our need, but He will do it His way, not ours. Answered prayer will meet our needs, but not our expectations.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

APPLICATION

Have you been guilty of failing to see God’s answer because of your expectations?

As we pray, let us check our prayers to remove any expectations or directions we may have for the LORD, as we present our needs to Him.