Ineffective praying is a waste of time, but effectual praying accomplishes a great deal!
Illus: The story is told of three missionaries who had gotten together and were discussing what they accomplished in their separate fields.
• One said, "I have been on the mission field, working for the Lord for three years, and during that time I have converted 75% of the natives, built a church and a school."
• The next one, not to be outdone, said, "Well, I have been on my field for three years and I have converted 90% of the natives, built a church, a school, and a hospital."
• They both turned to the third missionary that worked among the cannibals. They said in a sneering voice, "Have you persuaded those natives to quit eating humans?"
He said, “Well, it has been a long process, but I have made some progress. Now they are using knives and forks!"
We all want to see something accomplished in our lives, especially when it comes to prayer.
Again, we know the Bible makes it clear that, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
King Asa was a righteous man that came out of a unrighteous home.
WHO WAS KING ASA?
He was the son of King Abijam.
WHO WAS KING ABIJAM?
King Abijam also was known by two other names as Abijah, and King Abiah
He was son of King Rehoboam and father of King Asa.
Abijam reigned for only three years (913–911 BC) in Judah before he died.
Abijam was a wicked king: “He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been” (1 Kings 15:3).
Abjam’s mother was Maakah, and she apparently held a position of authority as queen mother throughout Abijam’s reign and into the reign of her grandson Asa.
After Abijam’s death, there was peace between Israel and Judah for ten years (2 Chronicles 14:1), and Abijam’s son, King Asa, instituted wide reforms throughout Judah.
One of Asa’s reforms was to depose his grandmother Maakah because of her promotion of Asherah worship.
(1 Kings 15:13). Second Chronicles 14:2 says, “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
• It is said that during Abijam's reign, the whole population that was able to go forth in war was under arms.
• Five hundred thousand men lost their lives during his reign.
• Abijam had 14 wives. He was a wicked man in every sense of the word.
Out of this ungodly environment came this godly son Asa.
The reason I point these things out is because some today tell us that if you grow up in an ungodly environment, it places us at a tremendous disadvantage in life.
We live in a VICTIM society. We frequently hear from some who say I cannot help it that I am a failure I was born on the wrong side of the tracks!!!
But some of the most successful people in the human race were born on the wrong side of the tracks.
Let me give you four short illustrations of famous people that you know that proves this is not true.
(1)Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at age ten.
Franklin's parents could only afford to keep him in school until his tenth birthday.
That didn't stop the great man from pursuing his education. He taught himself through voracious (enjoyed reading) reading, and eventually went on to invent the lightning rod and bifocals.
Oh, and he became one of America's Founding Fathers.
(2)Oprah Winfrey gave birth at age 14 and lost her child.
She is one of the most successful and richest people in the world today, but Winfrey didn't always have it so easy.
She grew up in Milwaukee, Wis. and was repeatedly molested by her cousin, uncle and a family friend.
But Winfrey's tragic past didn't stop her from becoming the force she is today. She excelled as an honors student in high school, and won an oratory contest which secured her a full scholarship to college.
Now the entrepreneur and personality has the admiration of millions and a net worth of $2.9 billion.
(3)Colonel Sanders
Mr. KFC is without a doubt one of the most recognizable and rich food businessmen in history but before that he used to be filthy poor and homeless.
His father died when he was only five and his mother quickly remarried.
When he was ten the colonel decided to leave his house because he couldn’t take his stepfather’s constant beatings and abuse.
He remained homeless for a really long time and did many jobs in his life until he came up with his own “secret” recipe and became the father of KFC.
He didn’t even have his own house until he was forty years old.
(4)Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone went from rags to riches with Rocky.
Those who claim to be victims of disadvantagement have no excuse because some of the most successful people on earth once were at a disadvantage.
King Asa came out of a wicked home environment, yet he turned out to be one of the great kings of Judah.
Look at 2 Chron. 14:2, “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God."
Look at some of the things he did:
• He removed the male prostitutes from the land.
• He removed his grandmother from her position of queen mother, because she had made an idol to Asherah.
• He destroyed the strange altars, the high places, and the sun images throughout Judah.
I point out all these things, because it is important that before we get to his prayer, we establish that He was A RIGHTEOUS MAN.
God's Word says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
However, even the righteous are not exempt from hard times.
During Asa's tenure as king, Zerah of Ethiopia, came against him with:
• A million men.
• Three hundred chariots of war.
Asa's army was greatly outnumbered, yet he was not perplexed because he knew that the God he served was bigger and more powerful than a million man army.
King Asa served a God that was big enough to take on a million man army.
WHAT DID HE DO?
He prayed a SHORT PRAYER before fighting this major battle in his life.
IS THIS SIGNIFICANT?
Yes, it is very significant!
THOSE WHO ARE NOT ACCUSTOMED TO PRAYING, PRAY ONLY WHEN DIFFICULTIES ARISE.
Illus: They make you think of the Pilot who found himself in trouble.
• He said: "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.
(2) SOME ONLY PRAY WHEN THEY WANT SOMETHING.
Illus: 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!"
• "Maybe he isn't," admitted Johnny, "but grandma is."
King Asa was a RIGHTEOUS MAN who loved the Lord. And when this crisis came up in his life, HE WAS ALREADY RIGHT WITH GOD, and all he had to do was pray a small simple prayer to face the crisis.
The word of God is correct, "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Let us look at three things in King Asa's prayer that will help us to be effective in our praying.
This righteous king knew what to do with his problems…
I. HE PRAYED
Look at 2 Chron. 14:11, we read, "And Asa cried unto he Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee."
Illus: When you have a problem…
(1) You can read book after book on how to handle your problems but none of them will turn us to God to handle our problems.
(2) You can go to counselor after counselor trying to find the solution to your problems and many of them will never recommend you turn to God.
King Asa teaches us many things about prayer.
King Asa knew what to do with his problem.
(1) The Bible tells us "And Asa cried unto he Lord his God…”
(2) He knew that HIS GOD WAS BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLES HIS PROBLEMS. Look at verse 11 again, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power:
(3) Asa teaches us about prayer what to do when we pray. Look at these words in verse 11, we read, “Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude.”
(4) Asa teaches us how we are to pray. Look at verse 11,”…and in thy name we go against this multitude.”
Illus: You can go to the local bank take a check that has my name for millions of dollars and the cashier will laugh at you.
But if you take a check with the name of Bill Gates that is a different story.
Asa knew the power of prayer in the name of Jesus. He said “IN THY NAME WE GO…”
Because there is power in the name of Jesus we pray IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
If we are IN CHRIST and CHRIST IS IN US He knew WHY HE HAD HIS PROBLEMS.
Notice, he closed his prayer with these words, “O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee."
He did not say against US but “AGAINST THEE”.
The fact is, the devil does not recognize us to be any threat to him, but He knows GREATER IS HE THAT IS WITHIN US THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.
Asa said in His prayer “O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee."
His short, simple prayer is filled with things that please God when they are prayed by a righteous man.
This righteous king knew where to take his problems.
• Not to his friends
• Not to the liquor store
• Not to the medicine cabinet
He knew….
A. THE RIGHT PLACE
When the crisis came up, Asa knew where to take his problems, “And Asa cried unto the Lord his God..."
What do many Christians do when a crisis comes up?
They turn to their family and friends.
WHY DO THEY TURN TO THEM?
Because they know they have a better relationship with family and friends than they have with God.
Did you know that when confronted with a real crisis, our loved ones and friends can do little more than sympathize with us?
Asa knew that his family and friends might have loved him, but about all they could do was sympathize with him.
Illus: A woman seated while flying in economy and holding her baby in her arms was startled when the man sitting behind her bent forward to say "Ma'am that is one ugly baby you have there!"
The woman, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, was so shocked she could barely retort "Well I ... I never!"
The man continued: "I'm just being honest with you ma'am, I mean, I've seen some ugly babies in my time, but yours is a real showstopper".
Quite overwhelmed, the woman called a flight attendant over. "The man behind me just hurled the most hideous insult at me, and I demand to be moved to a different seat!" she said.
The attendant gave her a consoling look of sympathy. "I'm so sorry, but as you know our flight is fully booked and until we find someone willing to switch seats, I'm afraid I won't be able to reseat you. We do apologize, however, and if you like, in the meantime we'd be happy to offer you anything from our in-flight menu free of charge."
"Fine", the woman said with an air of resignation, "but I've never been so insulted in all my life. What a horrible man!"
"Well, I just said the truth!", could be faintly heard from the seat behind.
Hearing that, the attendant resolved to make the woman feel better as soon as possible, telling her, "Any item of food or any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, whatever you choose, it's on us", she said.
"And if you like I'll also bring a banana for your monkey in your lap."
Sympathy does not do much for us when we are in a crisis.
Illus: Our family and friends remind us of the movie Rocky, when he is getting ready to fight this big, tall, muscular Russian.
Before the fight took place, one of his trainers went to him and told him how much he admired him and wished he could be him.
Rocky thanked him, but when he got in the ring and was getting the stuffing’s beat out of him by this muscular Russian, that same trainer said to him, “Remember, when I told you I wish I could be you, I have change my mind, I do not wish I was you!”
There is very little our friends can do for us, other than sympathize with us.
Asa knew this, and the Bible tells us he turned, “...unto the Lord his God."
He knew that God is a MIGHTY GOD!
When a crisis came, he knew THE RIGHT PLACE to go.
He also knew-
B. THE RIGHT POWER
The Bible tells us that Asa's forces were greatly outnumbered, and he needed some tremendous power to overcome what he was facing.
Look at verse 11 again, “...and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power..."
I like those words that Asa said to God when facing this million man army… it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power..."
Illus: For those who have been involved in weight lifting know it is nothing for some people to bench press five hundred pounds but for most people it is impossible.
When you allow a crisis to become larger than the God you serve, you are in a real crisis!
That is exactly what many people have done. They face different kinds of problems, and their friends and family cannot help them, and they have never discovered that God is our source of strength.
King Asa’s prayer revealed that he knew God was more than a match for any crisis he could face as King of Judah.
Notice, we have looked at he knew…
• THE RIGHT PLACE,
• THE RIGHT POWER,
Help. But also he had-
C. THE RIGHT PLAN
"...help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee."
Asa knew that as God’s man, he was placed here to face the hostile multitude. But in actuality they were fighting him but God.
And so he prayed, “...help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee...O Lord, thou art our God."
The reason many suffer defeat after defeat in the difficulties they face, is because they have been using the wrong plan.
Some worry about their problem and so they go to God in prayer and when they finish praying they go back to worrying.
Notice, Asa prayed AND HE RESTED IN GOD.
Illus: Any football coach will tell you, in times of crisis, and it is the fourth down, if you are going to be successful, you have to have the right plan.
Many have tried the:
• I'll trust in myself plan
• I will trust in family plan
• I will trust in my friends plan
But the plans they have trusted in have brought them defeat every time.
Asa trusted in God, he had the right plan.
Illus: George W. Bush gave a speech to the Republicans and the Democrats. He said:
• “Some think my tax budget is to big.” All the Democrats began to applaud in agreement.
• “Some think my tax budget is to small.” All the Republicans began to applaud in agreement.
• But he smiled and said, “I beg to differ with you, it is just right!”
When we trust the Lord, we are trusting in the plan that is JUST RIGHT!
He turned to the God of heaven Who is the only One who could help him during that crisis.
Does that mean he turned to God and told God to do everything, while he just sat back and did nothing?
Notice, HE PRAYED, but also-
II. HE PLANNED
Some time as we face the difficulty of life and we pray and God will tell us BE STILL and I will handle this because it is too big for you to handle.
But other times God might use us to be the answer to our prayers.
Illus: For example, God saved Noah and his family, but God used him to build an ark.
King Asa recognized that EFFECTUAL PRAYING is not just praying, but sometimes it Is putting legs on our prayer and God use us to answer the prayer.
Today many churches talk about their church attendance being small.
That is, there are churches that are large enough to hold hundreds of people but it is only a handful of people there each Sunday.
Illus: They make you think God led them to build these large churches and deserted them when it comes to filling them up!
Let me tell you why these churches are almost empty.
THEY ARE WAITING ON GOD TO FILL THEM AND GOD IS WAITING ON THEM TO FILL THEM.
• Some Sunday school teachers are praying for God to fill their classes. God wants to use them to go out and contact children to build their classes.
• Some church members are praying for God to fill the pews in their church. God wants to use them to invite friends, neighbors, and coworkers to visit their church.
It is not enough to expect God to do everything. There are some things he expects us to do.
God used Asa to plan for success in two ways.
And I might say if he had not been willing to carry out these plans he would have suffered a tremendous defeat.
Notice his plan was-
A. TO RID HIS NATION OF WICKEDNESS
2 Chron. 14:3-5 "For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him."
Notice, before this crisis ever came, Asa had already done everything he could do to rid the nation of Judah of evil.
Why?
He wanted God to bless his reign as King of Judah, and God WOULD NOT bless them as long as they tolerated evil in the land.
When this crisis came up in his life, he did not have to spend days repenting and getting things right with God.
He had done all he could do to rid the land of evil, and when this crisis came, he was able to pray one short prayer and get results.
Our prayers will be more effective when we rid our lives of the evil that is in them.
He had a plan TO RID HIS NATION OF EVIL, but also-
B. TO RID HIS NATION OF LAZINESS
2 Chron. 14:6-7 "And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered."
Something we hear today from people is the phrase, “I WISH….”
Listen, nothing ever is accomplished by wishing.
Don’t WISH, WORK!
God uses people who know how to work.
A nation or a church can not live on WISHES.
Why? Because wishing does not accomplish anything.
Illus: In 1964 when the first Mustang car came on the market it was a big hit.
Dr. Odell Belger was in Bible College and a good friend of his said, “I am praying for God to give me one of those mustang cars one day.”
His brother who was not a Christian was there and heard this young man say this, “Why don’t he get a job and go to work and buy one of them.”
What a lost man said made more sense than what a Christian man said.
King Asa was a smart man. He knew the God he served was powerful, but he also knew that God expects us to do those things we know we should do.
• He BUILT the walls
• He BUILT the towers
• He BUILT the gates
Asa knew that before a crisis ever came, they NEEDED TO DO all they could to PREPARE themselves, then when the crisis did come all they had to do was pray as he did, that one short, simple prayer.
Illus: In South Carolina there was a church named NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH and the people that attended would not work and invite people to attend their church.
The attendance kept getting smaller each year.
It finally got so small some folks in the community started calling it NO HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH.
• HE PRAYED,
• HE PLANNED
and-
III. HE PREVAILED
A. GOD USED THEIR RESOURCES
In verse 8, we read, "And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, TWO HUNDRED AND FOURSCORE THOUSAND: all these were mighty men of valour."
This totaled 580,000 men, half the size of the enemy!
Notice, Asa and his people let God use them before the crisis came by preparing walls, towers, and gates to the city, and when the crisis came, Asa let God use them to fight off this mighty army.
Some folks have the idea that they can just sit back and let God fight their battles when they could fight them.
Illus: They remind me of some of these free loaders on the side of the road who attitude is let everyone else work and make the money and they want them to hand it over to them.
Illus: Lazarus tomb teaches us that. They could not raise Lazarus from the dead but before the Lord did what He only could do He told them to REMOVE THE STONE. This was something they could do!!!
God wants to use our RESOURCES to accomplish His will.
God’s Word says, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice..."
All over this nation, we have Christians that have a "Let God do it," attitude.” And they are WAITING FOR GOD AND GOD IS WAITING FOR THEM!
Listen, you can pray all you want God to do, but if you can do it GOD EXPECTS YOU TO DO IT!!!
Illus: Every year many churches have a campaign called PACK A PEW SUNDAY. Members are assigned a pew and on that Sunday the church is packed.
What does this campaign teach us?
It teaches when God’s people invite family and friends to attend they will attend.
God will answer prayer, but He expects us to do what we can do! God expects you to use the talents He has blessed you with.
Illus: All of us are angered by people in our society who are healthy enough to hold down jobs, but instead of working, they hold out their hands and say, "I want you to feed, clothe, and shelter me."
We, as a nation, may be dumb enough to do this, but God is not dumb.
God’s Word said that, “...if any would not work, neither should he eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10
Some say, "I do not know why my prayers are not being answered."
Again, perhaps you are waiting for God to do what He is waiting for you to do.
God sometimes answers our prayers by giving us the ability and strength to accomplish what is needed.
King Asa knew that God was powerful and could take care of His nation, but he also knew that God expected them to use their RESOURCES to do their part.
He prevailed because GOD USED THEIR RESOURCES, but also-
B. GOD USED THEIR RESOLUTION
2 Chron. 14:13-15 “And Asa and the people that were with him PURSUED THEM unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. And THEY SMOTE ALL THE CITIES round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and THEY SPOILED ALL THE CITIES; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.”
King Asa and his men wanted a complete victory over the enemy. They didn’t just want to win a battle for today; they wanted to destroy the enemy.
When we pray for victory from sin, and victory over the enemy, we need to be RESOLVED to fight until the enemy is destroyed.
We pray for victory over a sin in our lives, but we are only looking at one little area where the enemy is attacking.
We need to look at all sin in our lives and desire and resolve to destroy it completely!
So many Christians are happy with winning a small battle and are not concerned with the destruction of the adversary.
Remember, “THE EFFECTUAL FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN AVAILETH MUCH.”
Conclusion:
I. HE PRAYED
II. HE PLANNED
III. HE PREVAILED
