Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he sought the Lord’s help. He sent out a proclamation saying that everyone was to fast and seek God’s favor. The people responded, and many went to Jerusalem to be with their king and pray with him. A huge crowd went to the Temple and stood before the Lord. Men brought their wives and children, so entire families prayed together and sought God’s help.

Jehoshaphat stood before all the people and prayed to God. He said, “Oh Lord, you’re the God of heaven. You’re the one who gave this land to your friend Abraham. You control all power and might. You said we’re to trust you when we’re in trouble. Look! The Moabites and Ammonites have gathered a massive army and have come to destroy us. We have no power to fight against them. We don’t know what else to do but look to you.”

Suddenly the Spirit of God came upon a prophet. He said, “Hear what God says to you. ‘Don’t be afraid of this vast multitude. This isn’t your battle, but mine. Tomorrow, go against them. You’ll see them coming, but you don’t have to fight them. Get in position, but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Don’t be afraid, I am with you.’”

Jehoshaphat bowed down and put his face to the ground. All the people did the same and worshiped the Lord. Suddenly, the Levites stood up and started praising the Lord God with a loud voice.

In the morning, the men got up early and went out to face their enemies. Jehoshaphat told them, “Believe in the Lord and you’ll be successful.” He then appointed people to sing for the Lord. They went out in front of the army singing, “Give thanks to the Lord. His faithful love endures forever.”

As the people shouted and praised the Lord, suddenly their enemy became confused. The Ammonites and the Moabites turned on those from Edom and totally annihilated them. They then turned on one another and kept killing until every man was dead. When the army of Judah arrived on the battlefield, there was nothing but corpses lying on the ground. No one had escaped.

Jehoshaphat told his people to gather up anything of value from the dead bodies. They found that their enemies had carried a large amount of valuables onto the battlefield. There was so much that the people gathered for three days. Finally, they couldn’t carry any more.

They met on the fourth day, just to praise God. Then they returned to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at the lead. Everyone gathered at the Temple to once again praise the Lord with great rejoicing!

All the nations around Judah heard about the great victory God had given his people. They were all terrified of the Lord, and none of them attacked Jehoshaphat as long as he lived. So there was peace in the land, and all was quiet.