Exaudi

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” [1]

Exaudi – hear us Lord. The world rests upon Your commandments, O God. It is Your faithfulness to the world which provides stability for the commands You have given, O Lord. It is Your wrath which hides Your commandments from us. It is Your promise, Lord, which enables us to keep those commandments. Lord, do not hide your commandments from us. Teach us to keep your commandments. Make Yourself known to us, O Lord. Exaudi—hear us Lord.

He was a man of action, a king who was threatened by enemies. Forced to go to war, this man of valour spoke the words of our text. He had gathered his people around himself for counsel to decide what should be done. He needed plans and programs immediately; he needed decisive action. In the face of the looming threat he takes an astonishing step; he proclaims a fast and openly prays before the people. His actions are so very peculiar in this day when we have grown accustomed to swift action and stern resolve. However, his plans and his programs melt away. His program becomes prayer; his decisiveness becomes deepest despair and humility. Before the people he prays, and at the conclusion of his prayer he makes an amazing confession before the Lord he petitions: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

That’s really a magnificent proposal for action, isn’t it? Wouldn’t we be enthusiastic if in a decisive hour some national or provincial leader should dare stand before us and confess, “We don’t know what to do?” That would be some admission! Even within the church we would be astonished by such an admission. What pastor could survive the firestorm arising from such an admission?

We know better than that. With us, programs and plans do not melt away into prayers; rather, among the faithful the fires of enthusiasm transform them into flying banners and shining symbols of things that are good and proper. With us, determination does not change into humility, but rather into an incontrovertible testimony to our own strength and courage. With us prayers become programs, supplications become demands; and at the end of the program the name of God must be called so that He too may be pressed into service of the program, compelled to approve of the brilliant plan, forced to accept our personal determinations. Then the official “party line” of the church is finished, just as we like to hear it and have already heard it a thousand times before.

HUMILITY — Jehoshaphat is perhaps most often remembered by those familiar with the Word of God for making a disastrous alliance with the enemies of God. Though he was a godly man who was often commended by the Lord, he allied himself with Ahab through marriage. This alliance led him into several disastrous ventures which brought him and the nation to the brink of destruction. Perhaps it would be well for us to remember Jehoshaphat for another trait which is rare among men of wealth and notoriety—humility.

Jehoshaphat seems often to have received God’s commendation, always after the divine chastisement and rebuke had been inflicted, however. The mark of a godly man is not that he never does anything wrong, but that when rebuked by the Lord he receives that rebuke with humility. He does not exalt himself by resisting the rebuke of the Lord, but instead he receives it as that which is intended for his own good. David testifies,

“Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;

let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;

let my head not refuse it.

Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.”

[PSALM 141:5].

The words could well have been applied to Jehoshaphat, for he humbly received the rebuke of God’s servant.

The wise man, David’s son, has written:

“Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;

reprove a wise man, and he will love you.”

[PROVERBS 9:8]

How true the words of the Wise Man:

“Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor

than he who flatters with his tongue.”

[PROVERBS 28:23]

You may remember the account of the death of Ahab and how Jehoshaphat barely escaped with his life. Upon his return to Jerusalem, this noble king was rebuked by Hanani, the prophet of God for his foolish alliance. Following this period of near disaster and divine rebuke, Jehoshaphat moved his kingdom Godward through appointing judges and administrators to insure that justice was accomplished and to oversee the peoples.

The chapter begins with the words, “After this.” The words point to an event that serves as the backdrop to our study. The kingdom was beset by armies from the Moabite and Ammonite kingdoms. The vast enemy hoards were advancing rapidly. Decisions would need to be made quickly; an immediate response was required. Would the people of God risk defeat through meeting the foe with their own army which was in need of being rebuilt? Would the people of God sue for peace at the likely cost of cruel servitude to these pagan nations? Would the people of God attempt some stratagem to avert disaster? The situation was desperate and the very real threat demanded action—now.

“Judah assembled,” as was so often true in times of crisis, “to seek help from the LORD.” Indeed, the divine text informs that they came “from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.” In the 107th PSALM, the Psalmist recites the mercies of the Lord and repeatedly remembers that the people of God, when punished for their own wilful sin, cried to the LORD in their trouble and He would save them from their distress [see PSALM 107:13, 19, 28]. Finally, however, their presumptuous sin was too much even for the LORD and he delivered the nation into the hands of the Assyrians and the Chaldeans.

We do not know what words may have been spoken as the people gathered—whether the priests spoke or what prayers may have been offered. It is as though the Spirit of God has drawn a curtain around those preceding events. We do know that the king of Israel stood up and prayed before the assembled nation. His prayer is recorded in 2 CHRONICLES 20:6-12.

“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.”

When did you last see a national leader pray openly and without presumption? When did you last hear of a national leader who sought the Lord with all his heart? Such honesty is not often seen among religious leaders, much less among political leaders. It simply is not done, which may account for the dearth of wisdom in the capitals of the world? Were our Prime Minister to openly confess the sin of the nation and publicly seek divine grace and guidance, perhaps our nation would prosper beyond our wildest dreams.

Jehoshaphat publicly reviewed God’s goodness toward the very nations now threatening Israel. He pleaded with God to see the perfidy of these wicked nations, asking that He would judge them. The point which I would ask you to focus on for the moment is the humility displayed in this prayer as the king confessed: “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 20:12b].

I urge you, as people who confess the Name of the Living God and of the Risen Christ, humble yourselves before His mighty hand. Openly confess that you have no might or power and acknowledge His omnipotence. What a transformation would be witnessed among the people of God was humility to mark us in our approach to God! What a difference from what is usually seen among us as the professed people of God.

DEPENDENCE — Not only does Jehoshaphat demonstrate deep humility, but he also openly admits his dependence upon God. Have you ever heard someone during a trial whimper, “Well, I guess there is nothing left but to pray?” Nothing left? Nothing left! How is it that the last thing we do is pray when confronted by the terrors of the day? Shouldn’t we first confess our dependence upon God? Before resorting to the doctor, should we not seek the healing hand of God? Before casting about for a friend to stand with us in the evil day, should we not seek God’s presence? The Apostle reminded the Athenians that “in Him (i.e. in God) we live and move and have our being” [ACTS 17:28]. How is it that we do not more readily confess our dependence upon the Lord our God in the time of trial?

Jehoshaphat reminds God of the divine promise to Solomon to deliver His people when they cry out to Him [VERSE NINE] and he readily confesses that the people have no power to face this vast army that was then attacking [VERSE TWELVE]. Then followed the words of our text: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” He confessed, “We are dependent on You, O Lord.” Our God delights to deliver His people when they openly confess their dependence upon Him. He is gracious to give His people His great salvation from every evil when they acknowledge their dependence upon Him.

In answer to the humble confession and in response to the plea for divine intervention, God sent His Spirit to enrobe a servant of God named Jahaziel, appointing him to stand before the assembly to deliver a message of hope and promise. In the account before us, this prophet encouraged the king and the people to refuse to surrender to their fears. Instead, those assembled on that day were directed to remember that God would fight for His people if the people would but stand firm in the face of the threat before them. At this word, the king and the people fell down before the Lord to worship. God had answered in response to the confession of dependence from the king—a confession delivered on his own behalf and that of the people. It is an axiom of the Faith that God often appoints a prophet in answer to the prayer of His people.

When we worship we are confessing our dependence upon Him whom we worship. If we perform a mere ritual or woodenly follow some prescribed rite, though we may feel good about the act, we will not have worshipped. To worship is to acknowledge in a most intimate manner our utter dependence upon the Living God. Our worship will not guarantee that we shall “feel” good, but it does hold the promise of confidence in Him who lives and reigns.

Imprisoned in a dank Roman dungeon, the aged apostle penned his last communication to the young pastor of the Ephesian church. We would think that one so abused must undoubtedly bemoan his fate and whimper against the injustice of his life. But the aged saint instead worships, inviting the young man to join him in that worship. “Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me” [2 TIMOTHY 1:8-12].

It has been my observation that in too many of the meetings of the churches the participants pass through a mandatory form of prayer which acknowledges Jesus as the Chairman of the Board, and then business is conducted as though He was not present. Even from the pulpit, too often the pastor voices a beautifully worded invocation and then conducts the service as though God was not present. Brothers and sisters, we are dependent upon the Lord if we will honour God! If boards and committees will accomplish anything of lasting significance it will be because our God directed them. If we are to accomplish anything of significance when we meet for a service of worship or to seek the face of the Lord in prayer or to conduct some matter of business, it will be because our God was pleased to meet with us. We are dependent upon Him.

I suspect that the confidence which the Apostle expressed is absent from too many of our churches precisely because we no longer recognise our need for God. Someone has said (correctly, I fear) that was the Spirit of God removed, the work of the churches would continue unhindered. We are more organised than ever; but we have nearly organised the Holy Spirit out of our churches. Jesus Himself would be welcome in too few of the churches which claim to worship Him. I had a young man in a previous church state that it appeared to him that it was always Christ against the church; I fear that young man was correct in his assessment. While we may invite Christ’s intervention during a moment of immediate crisis, we are content to handle matters ourselves at most other times. May God forgive us.

How much better it is to recognise limitations and to realise that we are dependent upon God and upon one another since God has given us to serve. If the Church is to advance, if the cause of Christ is to prosper, if any great work is to be established, we must do it together in dependence upon Him. There is no guarantee that our fellow man will recognise us for the work we do. We are in need of discovering that we are not indispensable; and we need to learn to share. A man responded to his friend's question, "How are you?" with the answer, "I am fine; I have resigned as President of the Universe and the resignation has been accepted." He understood this great principle.

CONFIDENCE — “Our eyes are on you!” These are the words of a confident heart. That church walking in humility before the Lord demonstrates they recognise their position in the world. They have no power save that which God exercises through them or in their behalf. They are dependent upon Him for all that will be accomplished and for all that they receive. Such humble people who recognise their dependence upon God are a people who walk confidently before the wondering eyes of a watching world.

There is a world of difference between confidence and presumption, but the two attitudes are separated by a razor-thin margin. When the Egyptian army pursued Israel, God has led the people to the edge of the sea and Pharaoh was about to drive his chariots into the rear of the great column. God directed Moses to do an unusual thing.

“Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.’

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” [EXODUS 14:21-29].

The people of Israel passed through the depths of the Red Sea, confident in the gracious deliverance of their God. Pharaoh and his army were drowned in that same sea. What the Israelites did by faith, the Egyptians presumed to do. The people of God were delivered; the Egyptian army was destroyed. The difference between faith and presumption is death. We walk by faith, confident in the deliverance of our God.

You no doubt will recall the divine account of the three Hebrew men who were cast into a raging furnace. Ordered to bow before an image of gold prepared by the king of Babylon, they refused to bow down, even to lower themselves as a political act. The king was enraged and had them brought before him to give an account of their actions.

Those three Hebrew captives revealed confidence in their God when they avowed before the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” [DANIEL 3:16-18]. God can save. Whether He does save or not is of no great consequence to the obedience heart.

The three godly men expressed confidence in the LORD their God. Whether they lived or whether they died, they were convinced that obedience to God in the smallest of matters was of far greater importance than endeavouring to keep a king happy. Underscore this truth in your mind. There are no small commands from a great God. What He commands we must do, trusting the consequences of our actions to Him. With the Psalmist we must learn to say:

“I trust in you, O LORD;

I say, ‘You are my God.’

My times are in your hand!”

[PSALM 31:14, 15a]

I would there was a church able to live confidently before God. I would there was a church somewhere able to distinguish between presumption and faith. I would that the church I seek could be this church. Dear people let us walk with God that we may live confidently in the midst of a fallen world. Have you ever noted the confidence which is ours before Christ our Lord? It is a confidence which permits us to live our lives as open books before the God with whom we have to do. It is confidence which permits us to speak openly and without veiled meanings.

WE ARE CONFIDENT BOTH THAT WE SHALL APPEAR BEFORE CHRIST AND THAT WE SHALL BE ACCEPTED IN HIM AT HIS COMING. Paul encourages us in this truth when he writes, “We are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10].

Likewise, in 1 JOHN 2:28-3:3 the Apostle testifies, “Little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN COME BEFORE THE MASTER AT ANY TIME. “In [Christ] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him” [EPHESIANS 3:12].

Again the testimony of the Word is, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” [HEBREWS 4:16].

WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT THE LORD WILL COMPLETE WHAT HE HAS BEGUN IN OUR LIVES. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” [PHILIPPIANS 1:3-6].

WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD TO SPEAK WITH HIM, TO RECEIVE GOOD FROM HIM, AND TO WORSHIP HIM. Here are several statements from the pen of the Apostle of Love to remind us of the confidence we can have in God, leading us to receive good and to worship Him. “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” [1 JOHN 3:21-24].

Again, John has written, “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” [1 JOHN 4:16-18].

Finally, consider this statement John provides. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” [1 JOHN 5:13-15].

That is a glorious verse which is recorded in the Hebrew letter which speaks of access to the heart of God. It teaches us that as redeemed people WE ALWAYS HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT WE SHALL BE RECEIVED BY HIM. “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” [HEBREWS 10:19-25].

Jehoshaphat spoke openly before God. God knew him; God knew his heart. All that the king said that day was known by God. Frankness, honesty, confidence before God, marked the king’s prayer and revealed the heart of a man who had long walked with God. Surely such honesty delights the heart of the Father. Do we actually think that we can deceive our God? Do we truly believe that He is ignorant of us? We will benefit from a review of one particular Psalm of David that speaks of God’s knowledge of us.

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.”

[PSALM 139:1-4]

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” was the king's concluding word. And the Divine Author notes that “all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives and their children.” The moment was poignant, pregnant with anticipation and expectation. For a time, not a word was spoken. What can be added to the confession of utter dependence upon God? What more can be said when godly leaders have openly confessed that human wisdom fails and the finest thoughts of united minds are incapable of addressing the great need? At such times the assembled people of God are struck dumb and compelled to wait until God moves. But know that He shall move!

“And…” There is a universe of meaning in that one word. After humbling themselves before the Lord, after confessing their dependence upon Him, after expressing confidence in Him—“And the Spirit of the Lord” moved to deliver the people. It pleased God to reveal His might through a word spoken by a prophet. It pleased God to deliver the great nation through praise. Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph the Psalmist, moved by the Spirit of God spoke to the king and the army.

“Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 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” [2 CHRONICLES 20:14-17].

At this word from the Lord, Jehoshaphat together with all the people fell down in worship. As they worshipped, some Levites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel. When will we permit ourselves to worship? When will we be free to stand, lifting our voices to God in praise and shouting for joy? When will we be free to fall before Him in worship? Surely the same Spirit of God speaks in this day. Surely the same Spirit of God works in power among the people of God today. Surely He still inspires awe and moves His people to worship—to hold Him in wonder and in awe.

It must have been some sight—an army moves toward the battle. Banners flying and horses straining to enter the fray. Shields polished and spears at the ready. At the head of the army march … singers?

“When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

‘Give thanks to the LORD,

for his steadfast love endures forever.”’

And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed” [2 CHRONICLES 20:21, 22].

I caution you against drawing the conclusion that Israel defeated her enemies because their army was preceded by singers. That would be a grave error on our part. I’ve heard some bad singing, but bad singers have never defeated an army. The armies of the enemies of the LORD were defeated because the people of God, rallying behind their leader, looked to God alone for deliverance. God defeated His enemies. God alone received the glory. He accomplished this great feat to reveal His might and power, though He did not move until His people cried out. This is nothing less than a reminder that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” [JAMES 5:16].

Take these lessons home with you. Three lessons relate to the character of our God. First, know that God is worthy of our praise and worship. Don’t permit yourself to fall into the trap of presenting mere form as worship. Our finest worship and most thoughtful praise honours God; and He is worthy to receive the best we have to offer. This means that we are responsible to think before we speak in His presence. This means that we ought to plan carefully before we enter into His presence. Again, we need to remember that God is omnipotent. Surely our God can do as He wills. All might and power reside in Him and He can accomplish more than we can think or imagine. The last lesson concerning God’s character is that God rules over the nations and overrules the nations. Though the world lies under the power of the evil one, nevertheless God reigns. If the LORD God desires, He is well able to overrule the power of the wicked one and to overrule puny earthly rulers.

There is another lesson which, though we confess it as true we seldom practise. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dare dream. The next lesson I urge on you is this—never underestimate the power of prayer. Prayer is the key that unlocks the treasure chest of heaven. Prayer is the cry that sets the power of God in motion. Prayer is the means by which the humblest saint of God invokes divine might and power.

Will we build a church in this place? It will be by the cries of God’s people that a church is built. Will we see our neighbours converted to the Faith? It will be through the prayers of God’s people that others will be turned to faith in the Living Christ. Will we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God? Will we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ? Make no mistake, it will be through the prayers of God’s holy people that such deeds are accomplished. Power and glory await expression in this day as the people of God again discover the power of prayer. The meanest saint on his knees conquers kingdoms and wins the day for the cause of Christ the Lord.

The final lesson I would urge on you in this hour is that you remember—our God delights to answer the prayer of the humble saint. I understand that this must appear an iteration of the point made but a moment ago. However, recognising the power of prayer and recognising that our God is a prayer-hearing God are each points to be remembered. How often in the Word do we see God presented as the God who hears prayer? It was as the priests and Levites stood to bless the people in the days of Hezekiah that God heard them, for “their prayer came to His holy habitation in Heaven” [2 CHRONICLES 30:27]. Ezra led those who returned to fast and implore God, and “He listened to [their] entreaty” [EZRA 8:23]. The Psalmist praised God because his prayer was heard and received [PSALM 66:19, 20]. What an encouragement is that scene after Peter and John were released by the Sanhedrin. Hearing their account the disciples “lifted their voices together to God,” and He answer with power! “When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” [ACTS 4:24-31]. God delights to answer the prayer of His people, and that must include us.

I encourage each of us to labour to become men and women of prayer. I encourage us to cry out to our God with all the candour and humility of Jehoshaphat. “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” Exaudi—hear us Lord.

“De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine

Domine, exaudi vocem meam.”

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

O Lord, hear my voice.”

[PSALM 130:1, 2a]

Amen.

[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.