“The commander of his army was Sisera…Because he had 900 iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years, they cried to the Lord for help.” Judges 4:2-3

900 iron chariots! Impressive! Intimidating! What a powerful army the Canaanites had! They had been persecuting the Israelites for 20 years because Israel had sinned against the Lord. But things were about to change.

I wonder. What “iron chariots” are oppressing us? For how long?

What are we focusing on?

Are we focusing on the power of the iron chariots or the power of our God?

Our focus will determine our future.

Israel was oppressed by those 900 iron chariots for 20 years. For 20 years they focused on the problem instead of seeking the Lord.

Satan, our enemy, loves to intimidate us with his “900 iron chariots.” He uses them to frighten and suppress us. His “chariots” appears fierce, strong, powerful.

And what do we do?

We sit around in fear and analyze the chariots. They’re powerful-made of iron! There are so many-900!

We let the chariots defeat us.

Life is full of “iron chariots.” Problems we face. Battles we fight. Difficulties. Trials. Trouble. They come in all forms, shapes, and sizes.

And we have a choice to make. We can sit around in defeat, paralyzed in fear, or we can take it to Someone Who can do something about it.

We can pray.

Prayer changes things.

Prayer changes situations.

Prayer changes people.

Prayer changes us.

Prayer changes everything. 

Prayer is the surest route to victory.

So why is it that prayer is often our last resort?

Satan knows the power of prayer. He fears prayer more than anything else.That’s why he works overtime to divert our attention from prayer to his seemingly powerful iron chariots. Here’s what Beth Moore says about prayer.

What victory the enemy has in winning us over to prayerlessness! He would rather we do anything than pray. He’d rather see us serve ourselves into the ground, because he knows we’ll eventually grow resentful without prayer. He’d rather see us study the Bible into the wee hours of the morning, because he knows we’ll never have the deep understanding and power to live what we’ve learned without prayer. He knows that prayerless lives are powerless lives, while prayerful lives are powerful lives.

~Beth Moore

When did things finally change for the Israelites?

When “they cried to the Lord for help,” Judges 4:3.  They prayed.

God sent them help through a judge named Deborah. The Lord revealed to Deborah the  battle plan. “At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.” Judges 4:15

“…All of the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.” Judges 4:16

God took out every single one of those 900 iron chariots. Every Canaanite soldier was killed. I love how Judges 4:15 says that the commander, Sisera, abandoned his iron chariot and made a run for it.

What? Your big bad iron chariot can’t help you now?

Needless to say, he didn’t make it too far. He ended up taking refuge in the tent of a woman named Jael. He drank some milk and took a little cat nap. Then Jael got a tent peg and drove it through his temple. Sisera was DRT (dead right there).

Everything changed when God’s people prayed. 

900 iron chariots were no match for an all-powerful God.