“And when they had prevailed over them, the Hagarites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle and He granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him.”
– 1 Chronicles 5:20
Oh, did you hear the last phrases here in 1 Chronicles 5:20? So this is talking about how the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had gone into battle with the Hagarites. And the Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 5:20 that the Hagarites were given into their hands. Why? Because the Reubenites, Gadites, half-tribe of Manasseh had cried out to God in the battle and God granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him.
In the middle of the battle, we have a God whom you can trust. So cry out to Him with urgent pleas all day long.
1 Chronicles 5:20 Teaches us to Cry Out to God
So just think about that language, crying out to God in the middle of battle. And this is a picture we see all over the Bible. Even when I think about Ephesians 6 and the armor of God, and how that whole list of different pieces in the armor of God you get to the end of that passage and Paul says, “Please pray for me in the middle of spiritual battle.” And this is where we live day in and day out. There is a spiritual battle going on in us, around us, in this world, in our lives, in our families, in our churches, there’s a spiritual battle.
So to cry out to God in the middle of the battle with urgent pleas, meaning you’re desperate. Like the Reubenites and Gadites, half-tribe of Manasseh here, they knew if God didn’t come through there’s no way they would have victory. And that’s the kind of desperation we’re supposed to live in day in and day out in spiritual battles. This is why we don’t go prayerless through our days because we know we can’t make it through the day apart from God’s grace, apart from God’s help, apart from God’s provision and direction. Like we need him. And every moment there are urgent pleas here.
Rely on the Spirit
1 Chronicles 5:20 says, “He granted their urgent plea.” Why? Because they trusted in Him. Oh. Is that good or what? In the middle of the battle, you have a God whom you can trust. So cry out to Him with urgent pleas all day long. Oh God, we pray based on 1 Chronicles 5:20 with urgent pleas for your help. And God I don’t know, obviously, what’s going on in every single person’s life who’s listening to. The family, the church, work. I don’t know what they are walking through. And I know I’m walking through a variety of things, but I know we all need you today. We all need your help today, we all need your wisdom today, we all need your guidance today, we all need your direction today, we all need your protection today.
God, we all need your Spirit empowering us to live in a way that glorifies your name today. We need help in the middle of all kinds of battles all around us. We need your help. And we cry out with urgent pleas and we say together, we trust in you. We trust in you with all our hearts. And we’re not leaning on our own understanding. We want to acknowledge you in all our ways and we trust that you will make our paths straight. Oh God, we trust in you. We trust in your wisdom, we trust in your love, we trust in your power, we trust in your sovereignty over all things. Even the things we don’t understand that we keep wondering why is this or that happening?
1 Chronicles 5:20 Leads Us to Trust in Him
God, we say together right now in prayer, we trust in you. And we cry out for your help with urgent pleas in the middle of battles all around us. Oh God, we pray all of this according to your word in 1 Chronicles 5:20. And we pray that you would keep our eyes and hearts and minds fixed on you with urgent pleas and prayer before you all throughout the battles we face today. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
