Title: HofP Prayer Requires Helplessness II Chronicles 20:1-12 Aim: Imp of recognizing our weaknesses & dependence upon God.

Transcription

1 1 Title: HofP Prayer Requires Helplessness II Chronicles 20:1-12 Aim: Imp of recognizing our weaknesses & dependence upon God. Intro: I know I ve shared this w/you (or admitted to) in the past, & I m sure many of you have seen it 1 st hand, to my shame. There exists in me what has been called in my family the Burks pride. Saw it in my father & my brothers, all good Christian men, humble in many ways, but most reluctant to admit need or be dependent on anyone else. I ve seen it in my sister, who serves the Lord w/gladness, but might not admit to the Burks pride, tho she sees it clearly in the rest of us. Didn t see it much in my mom, who wasn t an original Burks like the rest of us, tho that may also be a loving son s myopia. Andi will tell you, she s seen it. Both Beth & Blythe can verify it. I don t mind admitting my weaknesses, even tho I m somewhat closed vested in that area, but I really don t like to share my needs or depend on someone else for anything. Now, that s silly, really. Of course I/we have weaknesses & needs & everybody needs help from others from time to time. We all are dependent on others in various ways. Now there are those who spew out their needs all the time, especially in this age of Facebook; but most of us have a hard time admitting need, dependence. Why is that? Could it be that some of you, tho your name is not Burks, could be afflicted w/a measure of Burks pride? It s really detrimental to us. And where it s very detrimental to us is in the matter of prayer. Our theme: House of prayer God has called us to be people of prayer, regularly encountering Him & being the channels thru which others can encounter Him, too. Been looking at what Tim Keller, in his book entitled Prayer Experiencing the Awe & Intimacy of God, calls Touchstones of Prayer, which test the purity & genuineness of our prayers. We have considered what prayer is: work, requiring effort/time; word, conversing w/god thru His Word, the Bible; & balance, not just asking, but adoring, confessing, thanking. We have seen some of what prayer requires: grace in Jesus name, based on the Gospel; fear the heart engaged in loving

2 awe of God. Today we ll test our prayers against another touchstone addressing what prayer requires: Prayer requires helplessness. To that heading Keller adds, Prayer is accepting weakness & dependence. Certainly we see this clearly in regard to the Gospel. Keller reminds us that you & I have to recognize our own spiritual bankruptcy when it comes to receiving salvation thru Christ. In Christ alone my hope is found. That s what keeps some from coming to faith in Christ, because they have nothing to bring to the table & their pride pushes against such a notion. But this truth extends beyond salvation. Helplessness, weakness, dependence fills each of our lives in many ways. Try as we may to stay in shape (or not), we have to admit that our bodies are frail. None of us knows whether or not this day is our last on this earth. None of those shot & killed in the last 3 wks expected that day to be their last. The man or woman who walks out their door & falls dead of a heart attack does not expect it. Whatever physical ailment you may suffer tells you clearly that your body & life itself is fragile. Certainly losing loved ones to the enemy death makes that truth clear. And, our emotions are frail as well. Too many explode in anger at the least provocation road rage is a clear example. Many melt in fear of what might happen, frozen & unable to enjoy what is. Many are driven by politics or other causes which keep us on edge. Relationships are frail, requiring much effort to make them work. The least little thing may upset them, or break them. Finances are frail. Many live from paycheck to paycheck & the least little emergency need can upset the balance. Others are blessed w/enough, but may struggle to keep what they have or get ahead of whoever it is to whom they may compare themselves. Life is frail, & we are helpless to change that. We need God s order & help & provision & protection & grace every day. But that s good. Keller quotes Ole Hallesby who wrote, As far as I can see, prayer has been ordained only for the helpless Prayer & helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray. We are indeed weak/helpless & totally dependent on God, but often ashamed to admit it. But there is 2

3 one in Scripture (actually several others) who was not ashamed to admit his desperation before God. Jehoshaphat is a great example for us. Our Scripture text: II Chronicles 20:1-12 [READ]. I love Jehoshaphat! His college roommate might have called him Great Jumping Jehoshaphat because of his abandoned exuberance in worship of God. Among Israel & Judah s kings, Jehoshaphat was one of the good ones. He saw to it that the Book of the Law was read & taught thru all the cities of Judah. When Ahab, king of Israel, wanted Judah to go into battle w/them, Jehoshaphat insisted that they inquire of the Lord. They were warned not to go, but Ahab insisted, & in that ill-advised battle Ahab died God s judgment, but the Lord protected Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat also brought about needed reforms in Judah. He walked in the ways of David & of his father, Asa, also a godly king. But as good & strong as Jehoshaphat was, he ran into a situation where he found himself helpless. 3 nations decided together to come against Judah & Jehoshaphat in battle. Not told why, except maybe they were jealous of the riches of Judah & prominence in the region. The Moabites & Ammonites seemed to always be against Israel/Judah. The armies of 3 good sized nations, all to the east of Judah, coming as 1 against Judah, around the southern tip of the Dead Sea & reportedly already at Engedi, perhaps only 30 miles from Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat had an Oy ve moment. He was afraid & set His face to seek the Lord. That was a great step. He called for the whole nation to fast & pray. Then folks from all the cities of Judah gathered together to seek the Lord that means to seek His help, to cry out to Him together. Isn t that what we need to do as a church & as a nation? Encourage you to participate in our times of prayer & joint prayer gatherings & such things as Decision America w/franklin Graham on Aug. 24 th at the state capital in Montpelier. Jehoshaphat himself stood before the people in the court of the temple & prayed aloud, for all to hear. He declared who God is: God of our fathers, God in heaven, ruler over all kingdoms/nations, in whose hand are power & might. None is able to w/stand You. He 3

4 reminded God of what He had done for His people: drove out the inhabitants of the land & gave it to His people, to be theirs forever. He reminded God that His people had built a sanctuary for God, & he rehearsed before God His conversation w/solomon. If disaster comes upon us sword, judgment, pestilence, famine we will stand before this house & before You (like we re doing right now, God) & cry out to You - & You will hear & save. That s Your promise God & we need You to do it now. Told God the situation (of course God already knew): these armies of Ammon & Moab & Mt. Seir whom You wouldn t allow Israel to invade when they came out of Egypt & they avoided now they are rewarding us by attacking us? They are seeking to drive us out of the inheritance You gave us. Then he cried aloud to God: Won t You judge them? We are powerless/helpless against them! Then Jehoshaphat spoke the most honest words anyone ever prayed. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You. When the Israelite spies went into the land of Canaan to spy out the land before the Israelites crossed over, all but 2 of them came back w/a very similar report. The land is indeed wonderful, but the people of the land are too many, they re too big, they have walled cities. We look like grasshoppers compared to them. We can t do it. We re powerless, not strong enough. They saw their own weakness & helplessness, just like Jehoshaphat, but they didn t seek the Lord. Their eyes were not on Him, but on the circumstance alone. We are indeed helpless, weak, & powerless, but that s ok, if we re also dependent on God, who is more than able, almighty, omniscient, Lord over all! Being helpless/ powerless is no shame, but not admitting it is! Being independent is virtuous in many ways, but when it comes to our relationship w/god or dealing w/life, independence is no virtue; dependence is the way to go. It s a matter of recognizing our need for God in everything & confessing that to Him & looking to Him for help. Prayer requires helplessness. God gets all the glory when we depend upon Him. Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story. After Jehoshaphat prayed, 4

5 the Spirit of God came upon a man named Jahaziel & he proclaimed vs When we depend upon God, throwing ourselves upon His mercy & grace, then we really don t have to be afraid or dismayed. The battle has shifted over to God. It s no longer ours. God help us to understand that & live by it. Those are easy words, but test the Lord. Stand firm (in your faith), hold your position (of trust). The Lord will be w/you. Jehoshaphat humbly bowed before God, & all Judah w/him, & then they stood up & broke into worship in response to this assurance. The next morning, Jehoshaphat appointed a worship team to go before the army, singing & praising God. They sang, Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever (vs21). As they did so, we read (vs22) that the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, & MT Seir so that they were routed. They became confused & began attacking each other & literally destroyed one another. When the army & worshipers of Judah came to the place these armies had gathered, all they saw were dead bodies all were dead! When Jehoshaphat & the people arrived to gather the spoil, there was so much that it took them 3 days to carry it off. Then they gathered together in the Valley of Beracah, or Valley of Blessing, & they blessed they Lord & rejoiced in God s goodness. What a wonderful account! So, understand that prayer requires helplessness. If we didn t desperately need God s help & presence & grace, why pray? It s not that pray is just a crutch; it s really more than that prayer is life support! We are dependent on God. If you don t like that or don t want to admit it, that s when you re in trouble. In the face of your difficulties, cry out to God recognizing your helplessness/weaknesses/dependence; but as you look to Him for help, let your prayers be filled w/praise & worship. Remember God s promises. Trust God to be faithful. Throw yourself upon your God, who is good, who makes our battles His battles. And He will not be defeated! God has said, My house shall be called a house of prayer. Let us be His people of prayer! 5

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