2 Chronicles 20:5

Jennifer Jones  

"And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,"

Jehoshaphat had made some changes in the land of Judah when he became King after his father's (Asa) death. He got rid of pagan shrines and redid the courts with written laws that were taught to the people. He strengthened himself against Israel, yet some time later, he arranged for his son to marry the daughter of the King of Israel (Ahad). Next thing you know Ahad wants Jehoshaphat to help him fight against another King and Jehoshaphat did. However, this was only after considerable prayer. During the battle King Ahad was killed as had been foretold. Jehoshaphat then returned to Judah. (I Kings 22 and II Kings 3:4-27 gives us more information about this.) Later there were rumored invasion by other Kings. Again there was prayer. What did Jehoshaphat do when he had a problem-he went to the Lord in prayer.

Today, when there are problems or changes do we first go to the lord in prayer? In recent weeks I have been reexamining my interactions as a Christian in this community and congregation. Have I stood up and spoken for the teachings found in the Bible? Do I pray often enough and sincerely enough? In December a new member of this congregation wrote a letter to the editor concerning FCA. Here is a quote from the letter our new Paul wrote, "Those who think that Christians should "privatize" their prayer life by restricting it to church facilities may have their own exclusionary agenda, sad to say. In any case, they will be very disappointed. St. Paul encourages us to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and when we are restricted by law from leading public prayer in a government-sponsored setting, such as a high school football game, nothing can stop us from individually praying to our Lord any time or place we feel moved to do so."

Let us pray, our heavenly father guide us in the manner and pace of our prayers that we may model for others what being a child of God means to us. In Jesus' name, Amen.