By Joseph S. Batluck Sr., President Teen Challenge, USA
Read: 2 Chronicles 20
Prayer, fasting and praise have everything to do with victory and overcoming. Everything. 100%.
I am not in any way suggesting that we don’t have to roll up our sleeves and put our shoulders to the wheel. I am suggesting that the model for victory, recorded in 2 Chronicles 20, is the model that is timeless and guaranteed.
Judah is faced with overwhelming enemy forces. Annihilation is imminent. There is no Plan B. The leader, King Jehoshaphat, with fear as a motivator, does what he has trained to do. He turns to God! In verse 3, he proclaimed a fast for everyone. In verse 4, the people acted as a unified whole to seek God. In verses 5-11, the leader prayed and confessed God’s faithfulness. In verse 12, the king declares total abandonment by saying “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” In verse 13, the people stood to honor God. In verses 14-17, everyone listened to the plan. In verses 18-19, everyone worshipped. In verses 20-21, they prepared for battle with thanksgiving. Verse 22 says that “when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the…enemy…so that they were routed.”
Any victories must be built on the timeless principles of prayer, fasting and praise. The best plans, strategies and tactics fade except when they are anchored in and by prayer, fasting and praise. The future of Teen Challenge is only as bright as is our resolve to be spiritual leaders in prayer, fasting and praise. It is out of this context that God will guarantee victory that can only be accomplished by His hand.
