II Chronicles Chapter 14. Prayer of faith or prayer of complaining.
King ASA became the new king after his father's death and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The Cushites went up against ASA and Judah and their army was much bigger then ASA's army. But ASA called out to the Lord and God delivered the Cushites into their hands. The Cushites had suffered so much loss that they never recovered. Asa's Faith was tremendous. I need that kind of Faith. Often, when things look so impossible, I complain rather than pray the prayer of faith.
Asa's prayer is in verse 11. He says “Lord, there is no one like you to HELP THE POWERLESS against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we RELY ON YOU, and in YOUR NAME we come against the vast army. Lord, You Are God. Do not let mere mortals prevail against you.
When it comes to running the camp, I feel POWERLESS so God be my mighty strength. God, when it comes to my friends cancer, be his mighty strength. We RELY on you. It's in YOUR NAME we come against the obstacles of the camp and against the cancer. There is no other name we can turn to! You are God! Amen!
I was reminded today about the difference between the wise and foolish builders that we read about in Matthew 7:24-27. I thought about how this principle could be applied to each of the Jewish kings too. For example, Rehoboam was foolish as we saw how he chose to rule and treat the people. Now in chapter 14, we read about how Asa was wise in choosing to do what was good and right as he relied on God. May we choose to do the same as Asa and be wise.
Check out Psalm 62:5-8.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Asa’s prayer is beautiful and simple. He doesn’t try to restrict or move God … he simply gets in line with God and His will. He rests in Him.
Asa is remembered as being a godly man because he was wise enought to use time of peace for time of preparation. If your life is going smoothly, praise the Lord and enjoy it, but prepare for the battles that will surely come as long as we are here on earth. Thank you, Jesus, for never leaving us alone.