It’s hard to miss the point of 2 Chronicles 15. It is plainly stated and comes early in the chapter: “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” The point is repeated in the readings. Because they sought the Lord eagerly, “the Lord gave them rest on every side” (15:15). Asa stops relying on the Lord and loses the security God had given his nation (16:9). Asa’s successor, Jehoshaphat relies on the Lord, and God establishes his kingdom (17:5). Though he does something foolish, God delivers Jehoshaphat when he calls on the Lord (18:30-32).
But God was not just interested in the kings of Judah and Israel. God was equally interested in their people. But, as we have seen repeatedly, for a people to be spiritually attuned, they must have spiritual leaders. Asa, at least early in his monarchy, devotes himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, and the people follow.
The Church is the people of God. There is no separating the two. If we sometimes wonder why the Church isn’t what it ought to be, we might begin by looking a its leadership. Are they praying people who seek the will of God and follow it wholeheartedly? The Church may elect not to follow them, but if there is not spirituality among the leadership, the Church will have no one to follow.