Too Wise to Ask Wisdom
By Daniel Hartman Kress
THERE never was a time when earnest prayer was needed more than at present, and probably there never has been a time when prayer was more neglected. God is ready and willing to do great things for His people, but they "ask not." This is sad indeed. Men feel too wise to ask wisdom of God, and are too self-confident to feel their need of divine help. The form of prayer, it is true, is still kept up; but there exists no spirit of prayer. Prevailing prayer—how seldom is it heard! One of the essentials of prayer is to know and understand ourselves. A knowledge of our weakness leads to prayer. "Teach me first to feel my weakness,
Then to plead for strength divine." When the news came to Jehoshaphat, "There cometh a great multitude against thee," he "set himself to seek the Lord," and "Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord." When he had acknowledged his helplessness and utter dependence upon God, God undertook the battle for him. *Then came the words to Jehoshaphat from the Lord: "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle." The Lord next told them how to go out against their enemies. He requested that they appoint "singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise," the Lord sent confusion into the camp of their enemies, and "every one helped to destroy another." Judah needed not to fight, for their enemies destroyed themselves. God desires to-day to fight the battles for His people. He does not want them to fight. "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword." On the other hand, when their enemies arise, they are not to settle down at ease, and say, Well, the work is the Lord's, and He will take care of it; or, He has His hand on the lever of circumstances, and works everything after the counsel of His own will. While all this is true, this truth should not act as an opiate, and lead to inactivity and a false trust. It should stimulate men to do as did Jehoshaphat and all Judah—"ask help of the Lord."