When King Asa let pride and the vain illusion of prosperity take hold of his heart, he feared that one day someone might want to take over his kingdom. He then, afraid that this might happen, decided to build walls and towers, put doors and locks in cities. Besides, he armed himself, and prepared an army to protect him. With that, he diverted the protection of the Lord from himself and his people. He let himself be dominated by the spirit of fear, and considered that he himself must protect himself against an enemy that did not yet exist. — He said to himself, "Let's do this while the earth is still at peace." — What a fool he was. Wasn't the God who had given her peace all those years more efficient in keeping her peace? Such foolishness caused the devil to bring against him an enemy much stronger than he was to defeat him. If King Asa did not repent at the right time, and cry out to the Lord, he would have been slaughtered by his enemies.
When we listen to the Word of God and allow the Lord to teach us through the Holy Spirit, things happen naturally in our lives. We can see the opportunities that arise before us. But when we close our ears to what God says, the doors close, and this happens in all areas of life. When things aren't going well, we need to stop and take a look at how we're living. If things are not working out for you, if you feel that your paths are closed, prosperity is not enough, health is not good, then it is necessary to see where the gap is... where is the evil has come into your life. We need to examine ourselves, if we are really obeying what God has told us, or if we are just another religious, who goes to church on Sundays, but doesn't give a damn about what the Lord speaks to our hearts.
It is always good to meditate on what the Word reveals to us, because it is the Words of our Master that makes us conquerors; strong and victorious people in this world and in the spirit world. In Luke 11:21-22 Jesus said, "When a valiant guards his house armed, all that he hath is safe. But when another valiant comes upon him, and overcome him, he takes off all his armor in who trusted, and shares his spoils." — What valiant was the Lord Jesus referring to? He was talking about the devil, who when he gets into a person's life, he builds a kind of fortress there. He arm himself with every kind of deceit and filth that exists to make a person hateful through impure words, deeds, and thoughts. This is how he takes possession of and holds captive what is most precious to us: the spirit, the body and the soul. To free this person, it is necessary to disarm this valiant. We have to destroy the fortress he built. Like this? The enemy comes, and often he doesn't come alone, he brings his henchmen with him, and begins to control the individual's thoughts, stirs the person's feelings, in order to try to shield him from the Word of God. The person becomes insensitive. The devil uses all means not to let the person open his heart to hear the Word. In every way he tries to divert the person's interest, and when not, he even makes the person become violent and averse to the Word. He is guarding "his" property. He armed himself, or rather, armed the person against the Word of God, because he knows that if the person opens his heart, and starts to hear the preaching of the Word, she will believe... faith will come, and a person of faith is a threat to hell.
We need to learn to listen to God's voice. How does the Lord speak to us? By preaching the Word. — You won't hear any voice saying, “Listen so-and-so, I'm God... I'm telling you to do this...” No! — God speaks in our hearts, and we feel His voice when we're reading the Bible or listening to the preaching, when we understand what His will is. And when that happens, and we pay attention to Him, then even though our life is in a mess, everything starts to fall into place. Never doubt that. You know when God speaks. You will feel in your heart: "this Word is for me", so hold that Word. It is a path that God opened for you, of success, of victory, and at the same time it has all the ability to fix everything in the your life, even if you are completely dismantled, defeated, beaten down, in a short time you will be a blessing. Listen to God and He will hear you!