Christian Stress Management: The Importance of Believing God's Prophets

The Bible tells us to Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established.
Believe in His prophets and you shall prosper. (2 Chronicles 20:20)

Though this word "prosper" is taken to mean financial prosperity, it can also be used to signify success in other aspects of a person's life.

For example when it was used in this Bible verse, the Israelites and King Jehoshaphat had been attacked by several armies and they prayed and fasted for God's help.

God's Spirit came upon Jahaziel and he gave them God's message which was:
Do not be afraid.
Do not be dismayed because of this great army because the battle is not yours, it is God's.
Tomorrow go down to the battelfield and they will come up and you will find them before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
You will not need to fight in this battle.
Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of God Who is with you.
Do not fear.
Do not be dismayed.
Tomorrow go out against them because the Lord is with you. (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

After the Israelites received this message, they worshiped God and King Jehoshaphat told them, Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established. Believe in His prophets and you shall prosper. (2 Chronicles 20:20)

The Israelites Believed in God and they were established in the own land since the attackers wanted to remove them from their land.

We know this because King Jehoshaphat's prayed to God saying, "Here are people from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir - people You would not let Israel invade when we left Egypt but we turned from them and did not destroy them - but here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of the possession which You have given us to inherit." (2 Chronicles 20:10-11)

We know that they believed God because they went out to the battlefield the next day just as He had told them.

Click here to learn more about the Blessings of Obeying God

The Israelites also Believed in God's prophets and they prospered or succeeded because God made the attackers from Ammon and Moab attack and kill those from Mount Seir and when they had destroyed them, they destroyed each other. (2 Chronicles 20:22-23)

We know that they believed God's prophets because they did what God had said should be done.

So believe in God and show that you believe Him by doing what His prophets say He said you should do and you will be established.

Believe also in God's prophets and show that you believe them by doing what they say because Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

In addition, as you do the works that show that you believe in God and believe in His prophets, ensure that you do them in completion.

When tempted to obey partially ask yourself when Prophet Elisha told the Syrian Commander in Chief Namaan to go and wash himself in the River Jordan seven times so that he could be healed of leprosy, (2 Kings 5:10) if he had washed himself 6 times or decided to wash in another river would he have been healed? I don't think so.

Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

Therefore obey God's instructions completely like the Israelites who went down to the battlefield to face this large army of attackers from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.

In fact, they made a strong statement of their faith by placing their choir, which was singing praise songs to God, infront of their army as they went into the battlefield. (2 Chronicles 20:21)