TAKE EVERYTHING TO THE LORD IN PRAYER

PROCLAMATION

“And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, ‘Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on The Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.’ ”  2 Chronicles 16:7 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

The words of First and Second Chronicles were written as one book under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Ezra the scribe and priest and historical Bible scholar according to Jewish tradition.  After thirty-five years of doing that which was right in the eyes of The Lord during his reign as King of Judah, (2 Chronicles 15:17-19) Asa messed up.  The next year Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the territory of Asa.  Instead of calling on The Lord, Asa sought the assistance of Ben-Hadad king of Aram and took him gold and silver, and reminded him of the treaty between their fathers. (2 Chronicles 16:1-3)  Ben-Hadad agreed with Asa and sent his forces against the towns of Israel and conquered them.  When Baasha heard this he withdrew from Ramah.  Then Asa and the men of Judah took all of the stones and timber from Ramah and used them to fortify Geba and Mizpah. (2 Chronicles 16:4-6)  Afterwards, Hanani the seer came to Asa and told him that since he had relied upon the king of Syria instead of The Lord God, that he had done a foolish thing; and from that time onward he would be at war. (2 Chronicles 16:7-9)  Asa was not pleased with the seer and put him in prison.  At about the same time King Asa began to oppress some of his people.  Asa became afflicted with a disease of the feet.  Even though his disease was severe he did not call upon The Lord.  He only sought care from his physicians.  After suffering for two years, he died during the forty-first year of his reign. (2 Chronicles 16:10-14)

 

APPLICATION

We should never get to the point in our life where we think that we can handle our problems on our own.  We should take everything, the big and the small things, to The Lord God in prayer.  We can do nothing on our own. (Acts 17:28)  We should pray for God’s help, guidance, and direction before we say or do anything.  And, we should never put our faith and trust in man. (Psalm 118:8)  The Lord God is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in the times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)  We should always trust in The Lord and not in our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)  When we think that we can handle things ourselves we are wrong.  Pray!