An Altar(Ed) State Of Mind

King Asa was a man who loved God and obeyed God.

He didn’t get his reverence for God from his father. His father was certainly not a man who pleased God. Neither did he get his reverence for God from his grandfather.

After Solomon was king of the unified nation of Israel the kingdom was divided into two nations.

Ten of the tribes of Israel separated from the other two and appointed their own king who was not a descendant of David.

The remaining two tribes were still ruled by a descendant of David. The first king of those two tribes from the Southern kingdom, which by the way was called Judah, was Solomon’s son Rehoboam.

Rehoboam was a terrible king. He turned the hearts of the people away from Jehovah. He built idols on every hill and the people worshipped the idols rather than God. He reigned in Judah for seventeen years. When he died his son Abijam, or Abijah as he was also called, became the king.

He reigned only three years. He led the men of Judah into a battle against the nation of Israel and God gave him a victory even though there is no mention of Abijam destroying the idols that his father had built.

But Abijam’s son Asa turned out to be one of the greatest kings that Judah ever had. Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God,

....The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Asa was that kind of person -- However, even the righteous are not exempt from hard times. – Psalm 34:19

But Asa didn’t panic because he was honest before God which changed his way of thinking -- He prayed! He was a man of prayer. Some people only pray when they are facing a crisis situation.

They are like the pilot who radioed to the tower...... “Pilot to tower.....pilot to tower....we’re four hundred miles from land, eight hundred feet high and running out of fuel...please instruct...over.”

Tower: “Tower to pilot...tower to pilot...repeat after me...”Our Father who art in heaven.”

Some people only pray when they are in trouble.

Some people assume that kind of thinking is accurate – especially regarding prayer…they “assume” too much…

Some time ago I heard the story of a fire, of which,

a newspaper photographer needed to get close pictures.

His newspaper agreed to hire a plane for him at the local airport. When he arrived at the airport, sure enough, a plane was there.

He jumped in and yelled "take off"! The pilot did.

Once in the air, the photographer yelled to the pilot to make two or three low passes over the fire.

The pilot asked "why?". He answered, Because I’m a photographer! Photographers take pictures. I’m going to take pictures of the fire!"

The pilot replied with alarm, "You mean you’re not the flight instructor?"

Both men had made the wrong assumptions. The photographer had assumed that he was in the right plane. The pilot had assumed the man was his flight instructor.

It is never good to make assumptions. King Asa, in our text, shows us how to prepare instead of assume.

He shows us how to have an "Altar(ed) State Of Mind

1. Clean Your Prayer Altar (2 Chronicles 14:2-5)

In his book Why Prayers are Unanswered, John Lavender retells a story about Norman Vincent Peale.

When Peale was a boy, he found a big, black cigar, slipped into an alley, and lit up.

It didn’t taste good, but it made him feel very grown up. . . until he saw his father coming.

Quickly he put the cigar behind his back and tried to be casual.

Desperate to divert his father’s attention, Norman pointed to a billboard advertising the circus.

"Can I go, Dad? Please, let’s go when it comes to town." His father’s reply taught Norman a lesson he never forgot.

"Son, he answered quietly but firmly, "never make a petition while at the same time trying to hide a smoldering disobedience."

Our altars are often clouded with the incense of disobedience. To get rid of that cloud, we must be determined learn to do what is right…

(vs.2) Determine to live a righteous life

James 5:16b – The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Try praying other than JUST when you want something.

Little Johnny was saying his bedtime prayers a week before his birthday. In a loud voice he listed all the things he wanted.

“Don’t pray so loudly,” his mother instructed. “The Lord isn’t hard of hearing!”

Johnny said, “Maybe He isn’t……but Grandma is.”

King Asa was a righteous man who loved God and served God and when a crisis came upon his life, he was already right with God, and when he prayed God heard his prayer.