Jehoshaphat and the people pray

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Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, led his people and wanted them to trust God. Everyone was very afraid when a huge army was about to attack Judah, so King Jehoshaphat called all of the people together to fast and pray. The Lord spoke through a prophet and told the people not to worry because this battle belonged to the Lord. Jehoshaphat sent the army into battle, but, different to other battles, he placed a group of men in front to praise the Lord in song. While the army of Judah was approaching the battlefield praising the Lord, the Lord set the enemy armies against each other. By the time Judah’s army arrived at the battle, it was already over. The enemy armies had killed each other!

Bible verses used in this episode:

2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Outline:

1. King Jehoshaphat leads the people in prayer to God. (2 Chronicles 20:1-19)
2. God defeats the enemies and Jehoshaphat leads the people in praise of God. (2 Chronicles 20:20-30)

Tips for teaching children:

• Recreate the scene in verse 28 by making instruments and having a praise parade.
• Ask the children to share anything they might be afraid of. As a group, pray like Jehoshaphat and the people prayed in verse 18 by lying face down on the ground.
• Guide the children in making up a tune for the words of verse 21, “Thank the Lord. His love continues forever.”

Tips for teaching adults:

• Begin the class by singing, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” and “Rescue Me.”
• This story can be read during the class time.  Use the outline in the show-notes to divide up the reading. 
• Here are some discussions questions related to verses 1-4: 
  • How did Jehoshaphat emotionally react to the news of a large army coming to attack?  
  • How did he respond to this news?  
  • What can we learn from him about when we feel overwhelmed by a problem?
• Here are some discussions questions related to verses 5-12: 
  • What do you notice about what Jehoshaphat prayed? 
  • How can rehearsing God’s character and past actions help us when we pray?
• Hand out pieces of paper to the class members and ask them to write down problems they are facing that feel overwhelming to them.  Collect these and designate someone in the class to read these out and then pray about them.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson:  Jehoshaphat and the People Pray

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

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