Asa's Prayer

We're reading in 2 Chronicles chapter 14.

2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention

And we read again at verse 11.

And Asa cried to the Lord his God,

O Lord, there is none like you to help

between the mighty and the weak.

Help us, O Lord, our God.

For we rely on you, and in your name

we have come against this multitude, O Lord.

You are our God.

And let not man prevail against you.

We're continuing maybe a little on our theme

that we had last week when we were thinking

about the need of prayer.

This evening we were looking at a prayer of this man, Asa,

who cried out to the Lord in this time of need.

And have you been blessed in prayer

since we met last week?

Have you found yourself continuing in the construction work

of God's kingdom and building,

being part of that building work, that construction work,

by crying out to the Lord in prayer?

Many of you will have been maybe refreshed

and blessed in times of prayer.

Many of you, like myself, would be encouraged in prayer,

but also finding ourselves maybe struggling in prayer as well.

I'm wondering what our prayers are doing.

We go through so many different emotions

and the ups and downs when it comes to being a people

who are praying to God.

But I trust above all that you are all a praying people,

praying for one another,

praying for the cause of Christ,

praying for God's people far and wide,

for his kingdom to come.

But imagine this for a moment.

If all of your prayers that you've offered up to God

were written down in a book

and it was free for anyone to come and read this book,

to read your prayers as you've offered them up to God,

how comfortable would you be with that?

How comfortable would you be with other people

hearing or reading the prayers that you've offered up to God?

At a prayer meeting, we come together,

we gather together for public worship of God

and we hear prayers offered up in public.

You'll hear ministers praying,

you'll hear men being called upon to pray.

But is that the way we always pray?

When you hear a minister praying,

do you think that's the way he prays

when he's at home by himself?

When you hear others come up to pray,

do you think, well, that's how they must pray at home?

And you're wondering to yourself,

maybe that's the way I should pray in my own quiet times

and maybe not to be quite as open as I am.

And if you've ever prayed with someone else,

maybe just two of you together,

you pray maybe in a different way,

a very different way to what you pray

in your own quiet time.

In your own times when it's,

the word says when you go into your closet,

you close the door behind you

and you offer up your prayer to God.

I'm sure for most of us,

that quiet time of prayer

will be quite different in many ways

to praying in public.

It will be far more personal,

far more honest,

far more open with God

in our quiet time of prayer.

The things that we dare and utter to anybody else

will offer up to God.

We'll pour out our hearts more readily before him.

So how would you feel

if someone saw those prayers?

You may be afraid of people seeing them,

but no doubt if somebody else saw your prayers written down,

it would be an encouragement to think,

it's not just me.

I'm not the only one who has these thoughts

or who struggles in these ways.

I'm not alone.

And that's the wonder of reading the scriptures

and reading through God's word

and how many personal prayers you see recorded for us.

Very open prayers,

very honest prayers,

prayers offered up in times of joy,

prayers offered up in times of sorrow and struggle

and all of these different kinds of situations.

Many of the Psalms that we sing,

they are prayers offered up to God

and you read through them.

And the reason we love the Psalms often so much

is because we relate to them.

They speak to us in a very personal way

where you see the Psalmist honest and open before God.

And it's amazing just how many prayers you read

throughout the scriptures.

Just even as we read here,

this one verse,

a prayer offered up by Asa.

It's not a long prayer.

It's not full of big words.

And yet it's such a powerful and appointed prayer as well.

You think of some of Jesus's prayers recorded for us

in the scriptures.

And sometimes we may be surprised by them.

And when we see his humanity,

you think of the prayer he offered up in Gethsemane

when he was praying to his father,

that if it'd be possible,

this cup would pass him by.

But he said,

but not my will,

but yours be done.

And you start seeing just the battle that was there,

the conflict that was there,

even for our Lord Jesus Christ and his humanity.

And there's such a blessing in us,

for us,

in these for us to read

and to see the reality and the power of prayer.

And as we continue to go forward here

as a people of God,

as we continue to look around us

and as we continue to seek to go forward

in the work of God's kingdom,

resuming many of the things

that have been put on hold the last while,

great encouragement when we see things

starting up once again.

As we continue to go forward,

continuing with the ongoing work of the gospel

in many different ways

that didn't stop the preaching of the word

and prayerful people.

As we think of going forward to

and reaching out maybe in new ways

with the gospel,

none of these things will be blessed

apart from our praying people.

That is key to everything that we do.

The most important part of our work

in the kingdom of God

is to make sure our relationship with God

is right,

individually and collectively.

We see that as you read on

into chapter 15 here.

When Azariah came to Asa

and said to him,

Hear me, Asa,

unto all Judah and Benjamin.

The Lord is with you

while you are with him.

If you seek him,

he will be found by you.

But if you forsake him,

he will forsake you.

So there's real challenge

and encouragement there for us

to be a people

who always keep our focus towards God,

to seek the Lord always in this way.

As somebody once said,

we don't pray for the work of the church.

Prayer is the work of the church.

They're not separated.

They go hand in hand.

And we are to labor in prayer,

to go on in prayer,

in perseverance,

even through the great challenges

and the times we feel maybe discouraged in prayer

and we struggle in prayer.

It is a labor,

but we are to go on in that.

We're remembering,

as Asa says here,

that our God reigns.

He cried out to the Lord,

O Lord,

there is none like you to help.

And that is why we come to him.

So as we see Asa here,

success or otherwise,

and it's not dependent on him

or the powers of the people

or the armies,

but the power of the Lord

who reigns with them.

We see in verse two

at the beginning of this chapter

that Asa's reign

began with getting his priorities right.

Just the beginning of the first seven verses

in this chapter

just gives us an overview

of the initial 10 years of Asa's reign.

It was a time of peace.

It was a time when he got rid of everything

that was wrong in the land,

all the different idols

and false worship that was there.

He put it away.

And there's a time of peace

because the Lord was with them.

The land is still ours,

it says,

because we have sought the Lord,

our God,

it says in verse seven,

and he has given us peace

on every side.

The Lord gave them

this time of peace.

But then as we go on,

and as you see in

beginning at verse nine and 10 there,

you see Sarah,

the Ethiopian,

came out against them

with an army

of a million men

and 300 chariots.

So an army arises

against their nation.

And when trouble comes,

he, Asa,

and the people,

they are ready to trust

in God.

Even when in maybe their eyes

initially,

victory would seem

so far removed

because of the great numbers

they're coming up against.

Almost two against one

and they've got

300 chariots as well.

They were a powerful army.

Asa had,

as it says,

mighty men of valor.

But even in that,

there would have been fear

going up against

these Ethiopians.

But he's ready to trust God

and he's ready to lead

the people

in this way

of trusting

and committing

their ways

to God.

And as a people,

that is what we want

to do

going forward

as well.

To be a people

who are trusting

in God

and looking

towards God.

We do not do anything

in our own strength.

And so as we look

to God's help

and blessing,

we continue

to go forward

praying unto God.

Praying as Asa

here prays

to the God

who reigns,

to the God

who is good,

to the God

who is powerful.

He cried to the Lord

his God,

O Lord,

there is none

like you.

That is

dependence

upon God.

And so we look

at this passage

this evening

and three things

to see about Asa

and the prayer

that he offers

up here.

First thing is

there's a sense

of him feeling

powerless.

And the second thing

is he cried

out.

And the third thing

is he went

to battle.

So these three things

just want to see.

He felt,

first of all,

powerless

in many ways.

And maybe

you would see

this as a sign

of weakness.

When you think

of people,

even God's people

in the scriptures

having a sense

of feeling

powerless,

it's not

a weakness

because it is

a great

acknowledgement.

And when we

feel weak,

when we feel

powerless,

it's not a

weakness in

ourselves to say,

well,

now I have

to go to

God because

I cannot

deal with

this by

myself.

It's more

a weakness

to have that

kind of attitude

because it

shows we're

not depending

on God

from the

first place.

If we are

thinking we

can deal

with things

ourselves

and in

our own

strength,

and then

if need

be,

go to

God,

we've

got things

the wrong

way around.

And what

Asa teaches

us here

is that

even when

there is

great times

of peace

and great

times of

blessing,

when that

is interrupted

as it is

here for

Asa and

the people

of Judah

as the

Ethiopian

army arises

against them,

it goes from

peace to

imminent war.

And what

do they do?

What do they

do in this

situation?

outnumbered

and the

task of

gaining

victory in

this battle

may seem

a long

way away.

What can

I do?

Is maybe

what Asa

would be

asking.

Well,

he knows

what to

do.

He knew

what he

needed to

do.

He knew

what his

people needed

as well.

He went

to God

in prayer.

prayer.

One person

put it

like this,

he grasped

at God's

skirts and

prayed.

There's an

image there

of just

coming and

bowing before

God.

Coming and

right down,

kneeling before

God, grasping

at his skirt

and pleading

with God.

And that's

what made

all the

difference.

John Bunyan

once said,

you can

do more

than pray

after you

have prayed,

but you

cannot do

more than

pray until

you have

prayed.

It's about

getting things

the right

way around.

If you

look in

the New

Testament,

there's

that account

when the

woman who

had an

issue of

blood,

who had

for 12

years been

struggling on

with this,

trying everything

that she

could think

of herself.

She'd spent

everything,

she'd given

everything,

trying to

find healing

for this

issue.

But what

did she

do?

Where did

she find

healing?

It was

by coming

and touching

the hem

of the

garment

of the

Lord

Jesus.

Why?

Because

she knew

he had

power.

And that

is how

we are

to come.

When we

feel

powerless,

as we

often do,

we are

reminded that

coming to

God is

where we

will find

help and

strength and

peace and

comfort.

Asa says,

Lord,

there is

none like

you.

There is

no one

who compares

to you.

And that

is still

the case

today.

There is

none who

can help

us like

the Lord

can.

It's a

beautiful song

of faith,

the hymn

It Is

Well

With

My

Soul.

It was

written by

Horatio

Spafford.

And you

think to

yourself when

you sing

this hymn

or when

you hear

this hymn,

it is

well with

my soul.

That it

must have

been written

in a

situation

where

everything

was going

well.

Well,

it was

far from

it for

Horatio

Spafford.

Spafford

lived in

America.

He was

an acquaintance

of D.L.

Moody.

He was a

successful

lawyer.

And he

got on

well in

life.

Much

went well

for him

initially.

But his

faith was

tested on

many

occasions.

First in

1870,

when he

and his

wife lost

a son at

the age

of four

to scarlet

fever.

Then a

year later,

they were

wiped out

financially

by the

great

Chicago

fire in

1871.

In a

very short

space of

time,

his and

their

family's

life was

turned

upside

down.

In

recovering

from these

tragedies

that had

come upon

them,

Horatio

decided that

they needed

to get

away for

a time.

He decided

to take

his family

on holiday

to England

and that

later on

he would

join up

with

Dwight

Moody.

He was

on an

evangelistic

tour there.

They planned

to go

away as

a family

but at

the last

minute,

a business

situation

prevented

Horatio from

going away

with his

wife and

his children.

So he

sent them

ahead and

that he

would join

them soon

after.

So they

boarded a

ship,

his wife

and his

daughters.

And they

went on

ahead without

him but

the ship

that they

were on,

it collided

with another

ship and

sank.

And it

claimed

226

lives,

including

the lives

of all

four of

their young

girls.

His wife

survived and

sent a note

to her

husband simply

saying,

saved

alone.

she'd

made her

way to

England,

she'd

been

picked

up.

Horatio

boarded

another

ship to

go and

meet his

wife.

And as

they were

passing

through the

seas where

the ship

had sunk,

being aware

of the

tragedy that

had unfolded,

it was in

that situation

that he went

back to his

cabin and

wrote these

words of

the hymn.

the tragedy

he'd

experienced in

that he was

able to

pen the

words,

when peace

like a

river

attendeth

my way,

when sorrows

like sea

billows

roll,

whatever my

lot,

there has

taught me

to say,

it is

well,

it is

well with

my soul.

To be

able to

say that

in the

midst of

such tragic

circumstances

shows a

real power,

a dependence,

and a

faith in

God.

Do we

have that

faith to

come to

God in

prayer?

Asa could

easily look

and say,

look at the

battle we

are in,

look at the

numbers in

our army,

they are

double our

army's

strength,

we are so

small,

they are so

vast,

but no,

in his

powerless

feeling,

he comes

to God

what could

he possibly

do,

the same

as what

we can

do,

come to

him,

and that's

what we

see.

Secondly,

he cried

out to

God,

feeling

helpless

and powerless

in verse

11,

Asa's

prayer is

a prayer

of faith,

not long

as I said

before,

but just

a dependence

on God

in these

words.

Asa cried

to the

Lord is

God,

O Lord,

there is

none like

you to

help.

Between

the mighty

and the

weak,

help us,

O Lord

our God,

for we

rely on

you.

There is

a real

sense of

dependence

in these

words.

Lord,

there is

none like

you.

We depend

on you.

Maybe it

doesn't come

across as

clearly here

before us,

but what

Asa is

saying here

is,

Lord,

in the

scheme

of things,

this is

nothing to

you.

We may

be outnumbered

two to

one,

but Lord,

I know

who I'm

coming to.

I know

what you

have done

and I

know what

you are

able to

do.

And I

am

coming

recognizing

that.

There is

none

like you,

O Lord.

We rely

on you

because you

are able.

And the

reality is

we come

to God

and we

see things

through our

own eyes.

We see

things as

impossible.

We see

things that

we cannot

change.

And rightly

so,

because there

are things

that only

God can

change.

And that's

why we

come and

cry to

God,

saying,

just like

Asa,

there is

none like

you who

is able

to help

between the

mighty and

the weak.

Help us,

O Lord,

our God,

but we

rely on

you.

A short

prayer,

but a

powerful

prayer.

John Knox

is credited

as saying

this,

a man

with God

is always

in the

majority.

And here

is Asa,

he may be

outnumbered

two to

one with

his army

as he

looks around,

but with

God,

he's in

the majority.

With God

on his

side,

he is

able to

go forward.

John Knox,

though he had

many supporters

during the

Reformation in

Scotland,

he so often

seemed to

stand alone

at crucial

times.

But he was

able to

say that

a man

with God

is always

in the

majority.

and we

remember

as God's

people,

we have

him on

our side.

Romans 8

was mentioned

in prayer

earlier.

Romans 8

is such a

wonderful

passage that

reminds us

of God

with us

in every

circumstance.

The

Christian's

confidence

is there.

Just read

verse 31

of Romans 8.

What then

shall we

say in

response to

these things?

If God

is for

us,

who can

be against

us?

He who

did not

spare his

own son,

but gave

him up

for us

all,

how will

he not

also along

with him

freely give

us all

things?

God

with us.

That is

our cry

to the

Lord of

the impossible.

With us

it is

impossible

so often,

but with

God it

is possible.

We don't

just teach

our children

these things.

We don't

just share

stories from

the Bible

with young

people saying

you believe

that.

We share

it with

them saying

this is

what I

believe.

This is

the God

I know.

Asa

says we

rely on

you and

your name.

God

is that

what we

do?

Is that

the confidence

that we

have as

we come

to God

in prayer?

Back in

the 16th

century,

the man

Walter

Raleigh,

he once

made a

request to

Queen Elizabeth

I.

They had

a good

working

relationship

apparently.

Now,

without going

into the

details of

everything that

they were

doing,

whether it

was right

or wrong,

this story

was said

that once

he came

to the

Queen

making a

request,

and the

Queen

replied to

him,

Raleigh,

when will

you stop

coming to

me begging?

Walter

replied to

her and

saying,

when your

majesty

stops

giving,

and his

request

was granted.

But when we

think of

God,

is God

ever going

to say

to us,

when will

you stop

coming to

me begging?

Because he

will never

stop giving.

He gives

us abundantly

more than

we ask or

imagine.

So we

don't stop

coming.

We come

begging,

knowing we

can depend

on him.

Asa cried

out to

the Lord,

and that

is what

we are

to do.

The final

thing we

see here

is what

he did.

He went

to battle.

It's not

enough to

just cry

and to

have

confidence.

We have

courage

to go

forward.

Asa's

confidence

is seen

in what

he does.

He cried

out to

the Lord

pleading

for help.

and then

he went

in to

battle.

And so

the Lord

it says

in verse

12,

defeated

the

Ethiopians

before Asa

and before

Judah,

and the

Ethiopians

fled.

And Asa

and the

people who

were with

him pursued

them.

They went

forward.

Asa's

confidence

in God

leads to

courage.

help us

O Lord

our God

for we

rely on

you and

in your

name we

come against

this multitude.

He is

depending

on God.

Never mind

though it is

two against

one.

We come

against this

vast army

as part

of your

battle.

Are we

ready to

believe in

what we are

asking God

for and to

go and

fight for it

ourselves.

If we

have God

with us,

let us be

bold going

forward.

Bold in

prayer but

also bold

in all that

we do in

his name.

Remembering

that he

will help

us.

And just

notice what

Asa's prayer

says.

Again, this

is how we

are to see

the cause

of God.

He says

at the end

of his

prayer,

let not

man prevail

against you.

This is his

prayer to

God.

Let not

man prevail

against you.

You see,

Asa's not

concerned about

himself losing

this battle.

He's concerned

about the

cause of

God.

God.

And that's

our greatest

concern too.

Not that

we'll win

victory.

Not that

we'll do

anything that

will give

us glory.

But that

we see the

cause of

Christ and

his name

lifted up.

Let not

man prevail

against you.

We may

fall.

We may

fail in

the things

that we

do.

But we

still cry,

Lord,

let not

man prevail

against you.

May your

cause go

on.

And you

think of

people,

many people

who have

suffered in

the name of

Christ.

Whether it's

covenanters or

missionaries,

people have

gone far and

wide in the

name of

Christ.

And many

people look

and say,

but they

failed.

They were put

to death.

They lost

their lives.

They made

no impression

in the

land that

they went

to.

And yet

how often

over time

you see

their sacrifice

blessed.

It's not

about

ourselves or

anyone of

God's people

getting glory,

but that

glory be

to God

in his

time.

So are

we willing

to fight?

Are we

willing to

go forward?

Let me

leave you

with this

illustration.

A preacher

was once

watching a

stonemason

working away

on a large

slab of

marble.

And he

was amazed

how the

hammer and

chisely

used didn't

destroy this

piece of

marble,

but instead

brought something

beautiful from

something so

hard and yet

so delicate.

As the

preacher watched

the stonemason,

he said,

I wish I

could deal

such life

changing

blows to

many stony

hearts that

I see

around me.

The

stonemason,

whether it

was through

his wit

or through

his understanding

of the role

of the preacher,

said,

maybe you

could if

you work

like me

on your

knees.

It's a

challenge.

And I

rebuke

probably to

that preacher

a reminder

about where

our work

is done,

on our

knees

before God.

Asa

cried out

to the

Lord his

God,

O Lord,

there is

none like

you to

help.

And that

is where

we cry

to.

For Asa

says,

we rely

on you

and in

your name

we have

come

against

this

multitude.

So may

we go

forward

with Asa's

prayer

and our

dependence

on God,

trusting in

him that

he is able

to help.

May God

bless his

word to

us.

We'll sing

to God's

praise in

Psalm 70.