“Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 20:13
The Moabites and Ammonites have gathered for battle against Jehoshapat and his army. He has proclaimed a fast and gathered all the people together to seek the Lord. Jehoshapat prays a wonderful prayer of dependence, beseeching the Lord’s help. And then we come to this verse.
The solemnity of it struck me. It was almost as if I could see the scene, and the multitude standing there silently, having heard the king’s prayer. And now they wait for the Lord’s answer. It was a holy silence that needed nothing but to hear from Him. And He did not disappoint, but sent the promise of a great deliverance.
Often I find that my prayer times are filled with my words. I will pray until I run out of things to say and then assume that prayer is over. This is not communing with God. How can I be said to have a relationship with someone when the communication is always one sided? Life seems to always be in such high gear and there is always so much to do that it is hard to slow down and wait. But OH the reward of waiting is the joy of hearing from God. He does still speak to his people. We have just forgotten that we need to listen.
Lord, help me to develop this ability of holy listening. I desperately need to hear what You are saying.
A great verse!
Praying for you as you “stand before the Lord listening.”
RachelJune 24, 2009 / 12:44 pm
YES! We all need to listen more! But how hard it is to be still . . . I am trying to make that more of a regular practice – in my quiet time and during the day to be still to hear His voice. Being still is a lost art that we need to regain for our spiritual vitality.
I recently learned this lesson and I’m now convinced that we miss MUCH in our walk with the Lord because we are not prepared to spend adequate time waiting and listening. A couple of weeks ago a friend and I set aside a block of time for prayer – 4 hours Friday night and 4 hours Saturday morning. After 6 hours, the Lord spoke some truly wonderful things to my heart. 6 HOURS!! But Oh, it was worth it.
He is my Delight 
A great verse!
Praying for you as you “stand before the Lord listening.”
YES! We all need to listen more! But how hard it is to be still . . . I am trying to make that more of a regular practice – in my quiet time and during the day to be still to hear His voice. Being still is a lost art that we need to regain for our spiritual vitality.
Thanks for the reminder, I needed it.
Rachel
Melody/Rachel,
I recently learned this lesson and I’m now convinced that we miss MUCH in our walk with the Lord because we are not prepared to spend adequate time waiting and listening. A couple of weeks ago a friend and I set aside a block of time for prayer – 4 hours Friday night and 4 hours Saturday morning. After 6 hours, the Lord spoke some truly wonderful things to my heart. 6 HOURS!! But Oh, it was worth it.
That is AWESOME Eirene! 🙂