[1] The Evil Report:

II Chronicles 20:1-2

It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

For any battle, the first stage is getting the bad news, or the evil report. This report defines the parameters of the battle:

• – Time frame for the encounter
• – The theater of war (family, marriage, health, job, finances, property, business)
• – The stakes, what can be lost or gained
• – The resources involved, what is available to you, and what is coming against you.