“And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him”, (1 Chronicles 5:20, KJV).

We are faced with many battles every day. Most of these battles are not physical, which means that the surest way to win those battles is to call on God. My Catechist, Christian K. Ahiakonu, used to say that, before any victory is manifested in the physical, the battle was already won in the spiritual realm. And I agree with him because if you remember, in Hebrews, we are told that the physical (visible) has its origin in the invisible, (Hebrews 11:3). And there is only one way to fight these spiritual battles: the word of God and prayer.

Now, the Christian must know that the God we serve is a dependable God. And He can be called upon at any time. What it means is that you and I can call on God at any time for advice or when we are in trouble, we can call on Him to deliver us. And as long as we are repentant and trust Him, we can be assured of victory in His timing.

When the children of Israel were entering into the Promised Land they had to fight many battles. The tribe of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh did not go into the Promised Land with the rest. But the land that they had to occupy near the Promised Land had to be fought for. Because they were cattle owners they decided and settled on the east bank of the Jordan River, which is the area of the present day Iraq. This area was good for cattle rearing. And whilst in battle against the Hagarites, they realised that they were helpless and could not win the battle on their own. So, the Bible tells us that they cried to God in battle. And we are also told that they did this because they truly trusted God to deliver them and the result was a complete victory. If God is on your side, who can be against you?

It is important to note that calling on God without trust is like pouring water on the back of a duck. When coming to God, you must remember that TRUST is key. And this is where faith comes in. For the Bible says concerning asking God that “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”, (James 1:6-7, KJV). Don’t expect to receive from God when you don’t trust Him. This is basically what James is telling us.

You see, you need to trust God when calling on Him. It is for this reason we are advised to trust God at all times. When you’re coming to God, expect to receive from Him. And don’t wait for the situation to become worse before calling on Him. You can always call on God in times of good and bad. But when you find yourself in a tough spot, do like the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh did: cry out to God and trust Him to deliver you. You will be amazed at the faithfulness of God if you do as they did.

By: Seth Gogo Egoeh