“The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’”

The story of King Jehoshaphat perfectly illustrates the power of thanking God in advance, before God’s dream for you comes to pass. 

When faced with an attack by three enemy armies, Jehoshaphat had an unusual battle strategy: “The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’” (2 Chronicles 20:21 NLT).

Would you agree this is an unusual way to organize an army? Imagine what the opposing armies thought when they saw the Israeli army led by a bunch of harpists and trumpeters.

The choir wondered what was going on too. But King Jehoshaphat had reminded them that the battle belonged to God, and if they believed in him, they would succeed. That’s why they were able to thank God in advance for their upcoming victory and then show him that they believed by putting the choir before the army.

Prayer and praise are verbalized faith. When you say, “God, thank you that you’re providing the resources needed for the ministry dream you gave me. Thank you that you’re healing the relationships that could have threatened that dream,” that’s thanking him in advance.

It doesn’t take much faith to thank God after he’s done something. The way you show God that you have faith that he will complete what he started in you is by thanking him in advance.

Here’s the power of thanking God before your dream is completed: “At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves” (2 Chronicles 20:22 NLT).

Jehoshaphat’s army didn’t lift a finger (except to play their instruments). How did they win the battle? They thanked God in advance. They believed he would take care of them and save them from their enemies. They showed faith in their battle formation. And then they watched as God gave them their breakthrough.

When are you going to start thanking God for how he’ll see your dream through? Maybe you’ve wanted something all your life, but you’ve just been begging. Maybe you’ve tried to bargain, bribe, or pressure God to say “yes.”

God is just waiting for you to show faith.