So, I am no Biblical scholar, and I don’t know the histories and the lineages of all the kingdoms and countries of the Old Testament. But, I have been so encouraged and challenged by King Hezekiah’s response to the king of Assyria in the book of Isaiah. Here’s what I know. The king of Assyria sent a messenger to the ruler of the household of King Hezekiah and two other men to literally rebuke the Living God. He mocked their trust in the Lord. He bargained with them and told them not to listen to their king because he could not deliver them from the king of Assyria’s hand. He said do not “make Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord” (Isaiah 36:15) as if their king were trying to brainwash them. King Hezekiah believed that the Assyrians would not take hold of their land, Jerusalem.
So the three men went back and told King Hezekiah all the messenger had said. They all tore their clothes and were distraught. The messengers from Assyria returned again with a letter of rebuke this time. And what King Hezekiah does next is beautiful.
14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, 16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” (Isaiah 37:14-20)
King Hezekiah, though distraught because of the pushing back of the Assyrians and the rebuke of the one true God, holds fast to who he knows God to be and prays in THANKSGIVING in the middle of sorrow, trial, temptation, and affliction. Then God through Isaiah assures King Hezekiah, that because of his faithful prayer, the Assyrians will not take hold of Jerusalem. That is a beautiful answer to prayer, but yes isn’t always God’s answer.
You see, “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God” to be the true motivation for an answered prayer is radical and life- and heart-altering. God, help me to overcome this temptation so that all may know that You alone, Lord, are God. Lord, heal me from this disease so that all may know that You alone, Lord, are God. What?! All mixed in there with some powerful thanksgiving and praise of Jesus… that’s how we ought to pray. That’s how I ought to pray always and forever. It removes selfishness and the “I know what I need better than you, God” from the equation.
A dear saint once said the only way to pray with power and conviction is to pray scripture. And laced throughout the Bible are plenty of verses to pray back to God in praise, in thanksgiving, in need, etc. The book of Psalm is a great place to start. Pray the verses to God daily, and you will be praying with power and conviction! I love it because it is cut and dry and filled with power and truth, something we can do on the daily. I heard this phrase years ago, “for Your glory and for our good” and I have held on tight to those words when praying. May this come to pass for my good or this person’s good and all for God’s glory. Let’s all take Hezekiah’s lead and pray with the motivation that God’s name and His renown would be known through the answering of our prayers, whatever the answer may be!
Pull Up a Chair 