Mensa Otabil - Seeking Help from the Lord (10/04/2025)
We’re still on our countdown to 40 days of power, which starts on the 26th of June. This coming Saturday, I trust that your heart is ready, your body is getting ready, and that we will begin our 40 days of prayer and fasting. God is going to help us and do marvelous things with us as we seek help from the Lord.
Second Chronicles, chapter 20, verses 3 and 4: «And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.» So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord, and from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. King Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah, and he faced a very formidable threat from leaders or nations that had come against him. He assembled the leaders of Judah to seek the Lord. The invading army had come from Syria and was a coalition of different nations that had conquered others and were now targeting Judah.
By the time Jehoshaphat learned that this army was coming against him, they were almost at his border, nearing his territory. It was too late; there was very little he could do. The people outnumbered him, and he didn’t have the capacity to respond, so he turned to the Lord and proclaimed a fast for his people. The people went on a fast; the nation, the army, and even the children participated. This was a very serious situation for his people, and after the fast, God gave them direction on how to fight the battle. Interestingly, he told Jehoshaphat to put the singers in front-not the military men, but the singers-to sing, «For He is good, and His mercies endure forever.» Remarkably, God gave them the victory.
We learn from Jehoshaphat that sometimes, when faced with a threat and unsure of what to do, there is a place we can turn to-and that is God. We can rely on Him, and He is able to turn impossible situations around. As we enter a period of fasting, we may feel like Jehoshaphat, confronted with threats and impossible situations, with no one to help us. You might even think, «It’s too late; I didn’t see it earlier. I don’t think much can be done.» But we serve a God of possibility; all things are possible for Him. Why don’t you trust Him? Why not do what Jehoshaphat did?
Two things I want to highlight are that they sought the Lord. First, seeking the Lord means making God our focus, attending our attention to Him, and prioritizing Him. During fasting, we are seeking the Lord. The second thing the passage mentions is that they asked help from the Lord, which literally means they prayed. They went to the temple to hold on to the horns of the altar. In those days, that was how they prayed in serious crises. Today, we simply pray in the name of Jesus, but back then, they went to the temple and held the horns of the altar to begin praying. God heard them.
We seek the Lord because we focus on Him; we turn our attention to Him and ask God to help us through prayer. A simple prayer is all it takes-saying, «Father, I’m in this trouble, I’m in this crisis. Help me; I trust you.» God hears you; you don’t have to memorize elaborate vocabulary. He hears your heart of faith and will answer. In fasting, we seek the Lord and ask God to help us. If you are faced with a threat or something is coming against you, seek the Lord and ask Him for help. The same God who did it for Jehoshaphat will do it for you and for me too.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I have set myself to seek Your help. Show me what You want me to do in all that I do. In Jesus' name, amen.» God will show you what to do; you will find Him when you seek Him, and help will come to you speedily. In Jesus' name, well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom-peace and life to you.