“Oh our God, will you not execute judgment on them, for we are powerless against this great hoard that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
– 2 Chronicles 20:12
2 Chronicles 20:12 is one of my favorite prayers in not just 2 Chronicles, in all the Old Testament, right? Here is Jehoshaphat knowing that he is facing an army coming after him, people, enemies, attacking him, and he is overwhelmed. He says, “We are powerless against this great hoard that is coming against us.” So what does he say? He says, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
We are powerless and hopeless without you, but our eyes are fixed on you.
What a prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:12. I think about my life and so many things, I don’t know what to do about in my life. When it comes to life, when it comes to marriage, and parenting, and family, when it comes to church, when it comes to life in the world, so many things. What do I do, God? What do I do? I need wisdom. I need help. And I feel overwhelmed. Do you ever feel overwhelmed like this? I think there’s a sense in which God has called us all to feel overwhelmed like this, and we will feel overwhelmed like this when we realize who we are. We are powerless. We can do nothing without God, but that’s the beauty here because Jehoshaphat prays, and he says, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” And that’s what matters most.
2 Chronicles 20:12 Reminds Us to Trust God
And we don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to turn. We don’t know how we’re going to get out of this, get through this, and we pause and we say, “I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed, but I know this, my eyes are fixed on you, and I’m trusting in you. I’m trusting in your promises. And I’m trusting in your presence. I’m trusting in your help. As well as, I’m trusting in your power. God, I’m trusting in you.” And this is the way God has designed us to live every single day. And we pray this, no matter what’s going on in our lives, we feel it especially when we’re overwhelmed by challenges coming against us. We pause and we say to you, “Oh God, we don’t know what to do. We are powerless, hopeless, without you, but our eyes are fixed on you.”
This Verse Reminds Us We Find Strength in God
And in this, we find strength. In fixing our eyes on you, we find hope. In fixing our eyes on you, we find joy. As we fix our eyes on you, we find peace. All these things that can only come from you. We look to you. Our eyes are raised to you. Oh God, help us. We pray. Will you not execute judgment on them? Will you not work according to your ways and your word and your promises? We trust that you will, and so we fix our eyes on you amidst the storms around us, amidst the challenges we are facing, amidst the trials we’re walking through. We say in the words of 2 Chronicles 20:12, “We don’t know what to do, but we are glad to fix our eyes on you.”
The author, perfecter of our faith, our defender, our provider, our savior, our Lord, our king, who has conquered the ultimate enemy and made salvation for all of eternity possible for us. Our eyes are gladly fixed on you today. In Jesus’ name. 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.
