I love reading the prayers of the Old Testament saints. They inspire me because of their unfeigned faith.. They encourage me because they struggled just like me. One of my favorites is found in 2 Kings 19. Hezekiah was King of Judah and the Bible tells us that he was a good king; almost as good a king as his ancestor King David. He loved God with all his heart and he worked tirelessly to rid Judah of idol worship and to return his nation to the worship of the One True God.
Assyria was the bitter enemy of Israel and Judah. One day, Hezekiah received a letter from the king of Assyria declaring that he and his army would utterly destroy Hezekiah and his people. Verse14 tells us that Hezekiah immediately left his palace and went to the Temple and he took that letter and spread it out on the floor "before the Lord." I can see it; the thick parchment paper with a message written in bold ink stating that the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, would do to Hezekiah and Judah what he and his army had done to the other nations around him. And with that letter laying on the floor of the Temple, Hezekiah lay on his face before it and began to pray:
"Oh Lord God of Israel Who dwells between the cherubim, You are the God, even You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth.
Lord, bow down your ear and hear, open Lord your eyes and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to reproach the living God. Assyria has already destroyed the nations around us. v19, Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech You, save us out of his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, even You only. v20, God told Isaiah the prophet to tell Hezekiah, "I have heard."
There comes a time when religion will not help us. The faith of our parents, the well meaning words from others cannot fix what is wrong. Those are the times when we have to do as Hezekiah did and lay it on the floor, fall on our face and pray. And pray until we hear God say, "I have heard."
I hope you'll read the rest of the story because Jehovah Saboath (The Lord of the Hosts) proves Himself faithful once again. God made Hezekiah this promise: v33, the same way Sennacherib came in, the same way he will leave, he will not come into this city because, v34, I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.
Then in one night God's Heavenly Hosts killed 185,000 Assyrians and Sennacherib wasted no time in getting as far away from Judah as he could get.
Life is hard. Life is not fair. But when things look their worst, you are afraid to the core of your being and you see no way out of your situation, God is there. He loves you.You may not have a letter, but you can write your own. On a piece of paper, write whatever it is that threatens your marriage, threatens your family, threatens your peace, and lay it on the floor, and as Hezekiah did, pour out your heart to God. He will hear you.
Penny
