“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Chronicles 20:12 Mean?
This is the climax of Jehoshaphat's prayer as the Moabite-Ammonite coalition marches toward Judah. After recounting God's history of faithfulness — giving the land to Abraham's descendants, establishing the temple as a place to cry out in distress — Jehoshaphat arrives at the raw, unvarnished truth: "We have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee."
Three confessions in one breath. We have no strength. We have no strategy. We have nothing except our attention fixed on You. The Hebrew phrase ki alekha enenu — "for upon thee are our eyes" — is the structural climax of the prayer. Everything before it strips away false confidence. This phrase declares the only confidence left.
The prayer is spoken publicly, in the assembly, with all Judah gathered — men, women, children, infants (v. 13). Jehoshaphat doesn't project false confidence for the sake of morale. He prays the truth in front of everyone. And God responds immediately: a Levite named Jahaziel stands up, filled with the Spirit, and says, "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's" (v. 15). The most honest prayer in Jehoshaphat's life produced the most direct answer.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you pray Jehoshaphat's prayer honestly right now — 'we have no might, neither know we what to do' — about something specific in your life?
- 2.What keeps you from being this raw with God? What would you lose by admitting you have no plan?
- 3.Where's the 'but' in your current situation — the thing your eyes could be fixed on even when everything else is failing?
- 4.Jehoshaphat prayed this in front of everyone, including children. What would it look like to be this honest about your need in community, not just in private?
Devotional
"We have no might... neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." If there were a single sentence to pray when everything is falling apart, this is it. No performance. No spiritual language designed to impress. Just three admissions that strip you down to nothing — and then the only thing that matters: my eyes are on You.
Most of us resist getting this honest with God. We'd rather show up with at least a partial plan. "God, here's my analysis of the situation, and here's what I think You should do about it." Jehoshaphat didn't have that luxury. The army was real, the threat was lethal, and his military assessment was zero. So he said the truest thing he could say: I've got nothing. But I'm looking at You.
That's not despair. Despair says "I have no might" and stops. Faith says "I have no might... but our eyes are upon thee." The "but" is everything. It's the hinge between hopelessness and trust. You can be completely out of strength and completely out of ideas and still not be out of hope — if your eyes are fixed on the right place. Whatever you're facing today that is bigger than you, stronger than you, and more complex than your best strategy can handle: say the prayer. All of it. The weakness. The confusion. And then the but.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
O our God wilt thou not judge them?.... Bring them to thy bar, examine these facts alleged against them, convict them of…
Wilt thou not judge them - That is, Thou wilt inflict deserved punishment upon them.
We left Jehoshaphat, in the foregoing chapter, well employed in reforming his kingdom and providing for the due…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture