We're reading in 2 Chronicles chapter 14.
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.
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.