The Significance of Supplication
Notes
Transcript
1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying,
3 “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.
Title:
The Significance of Supplication
The Significance of Supplication
Pray
Context:
Story of Hezekiah
• This story is found in the middle of a reign of kings who barely get a paragraph about who they were and what they did...
• Hezekiah is recorded to "18:3 He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done."
• 18:5-6 - 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.
6 For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.
He was a righteous king, even being compared to David who was called a man after God's own heart...
He was upright and did what God asked...
He did not falter in the way he led God's people...
He CLUNG to God!... And YET! He became mortally ILL. So much so that God sent a prophet to tell him, get your house in order... You shall die...
Of all the things I want God to say when I am looking for a word from Him, this is not on my list…
You shall die.
Keep in mind this is the same God who created the world by a word…
He spoke the universe into existence with a word…
He speaks and mountains tremble…
He speaks and all of heaven stands at attention…
A word from this God can cause rivers in the desert, highways in the wilderness, light to spring forth from the darkness…
Just one word from God can bring victory in the midnight hour…
But what do you do when the word you receive is: You shall die and not live…
This isn’t the first time God has delivered this word… Remember the Israelites in the wilderness? He held true to the word He gave them when He told them not a one of you will step foot into the promised land save caleb and joshua.
BUT THE BIBLE SAYS…:
2 Kings 20:2 (NASB95)
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed...
He didn’t get mad at God or blame God for it.
The bible never says God made Hezekiah sick… It just says he became sick and the word of the Lord came after he was sick to let him know he needed to get his house in order…
BUT HEZEKIAH PRAYED…
Prayer changes things!
There is power in prayer!
The disciples followed Jesus and watched Him preform miracle after miracle, healing after healing, but never asked Him to teach them to preform miracles, or heal.
Luke 11:1 (NASB95)
1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray...
They recognized the connection between prayer and power.
It is in prayer that the battle is won
It is prayer that moves mountains
It is prayer that brings us closer to the Father.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
It is prayer that turned around the destiny of Nineveh!
I remember, on a trip in Port Aurthor, tx, laid across an alter in prayer when God called me…
It was prayer that shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel…
It was through prayer that sampson’s strength was restored…
It was the prayer of one man Elijah that called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel.
There is power in prayer!
To be clear, prayer is not a formula to be followed...
There is no straight trade as if the more hours you spend in prayer the more supernatural power you will have...
It doesn't work like that. Being in prayer more doesn't make you more saved. Jesus died once and for all and His sacrifice is enough.
Prayer is the avenue by which we commune with God Almighty...
Prayer is the opportunity you have to walk into the Holy of Holies with face to face with the omnipotent God of the universe and speak to Him, without fear!
English Standard Version (Chapter 6)
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Supplication = de'esis (Greek) = URGENT request to meet a need
Not the same as euchomai or proseuche = common prayer
Supplication in this sense is an URGENT request to God...
James uses this word for prayer in James 5:16 - "The effectual fervent prayer (literally supplication) of a righteous man avails much."
Supplication is not a time of obligation... religious piety.... Requirement... it is a time to petition the God of Heaven to break through because there is a NEED....
Just as Hezekiah had a NEED so America has a NEED...
... the Church has a NEED...
... this city has a NEED...
... this region has a NEED...
... and these needs demand an URGENT response from the Church...
Hezekiah could have done just what the prophet said and started getting his house in order, giving up, letting go, but…
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed...
Look at the other part of that verse in Ephesians... Praying AT ALL TIMES...
AT ALL TIMES!
KEEP PRAYING!
Don't let the enemy tell you you're as good as you'll ever be.
He will lie and tell you that you'll always be like this, that you might as well get used to it, you're never going to be able to live right, you'll never get rid of that bondage, you'll never live in victory,
BUT THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!
Jesus already secured the victory, He’s already won… I’ve read the end of the book, and we win!
That's why we can pray with confidence... God hears us! Jesus is interceding on our behalf!
Theres a song that has been ringing in my ears all week…
Oh Lord, I can't even walk without you holding my hand
The mountains too high and the valleys too wide
Down on my knees that's where I learned to stand
Oh Lord, I can't even walk without you holding my hand
Down on my knees… I learn how to stand…
I can’t do it without Him! I need His guidance. I need His help!
And I need people around me that are connected to the source...
We need people around us that stir up our faith... That push us into prayer!!
People who would say:
Take it to the Lord in prayer! Never give up! Press in! Press on! Pray! Pray with urgency! Pray with conviction! Pray like lives depend on it!
Hezekiah's life did depend on it... God had already told him that he was going to die... Yet he prayed.
Here's the thing about Hezekiah.... This wasn't the first time he had prayed to God...
In the second half of chapter 2 Kings 18, the King of Assyria had surrounded the city, laid siege to it, and sent a messenger to tell those guarding the wall:
But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.”
Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and cIvvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
The king of Assyria comes in with this tactic of intimidation, but here’s Hezekiah’s response:
1 And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord.
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 before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
16 “Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
Hezekiah prays a beautiful prayer... But look what God told him:
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’
Not because of his word choice... Not because he prayed 100 hours... not because he knew the right words in the right order...
Sometimes, prayer doesn't sound like this:
Dear heavenly God our father, creator of heaven and earth, all the cosmos is yours and you hold all power....
You don't need a bible degree... You don't need a masters of Divinity... You don't need a doctorate in Theological Studies....
Sometimes prayer sounds like this:
I NEED YOU! HELP! GOD I NEED YOU!
English Standard Version (Chapter 5)
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence
Prayer is less about style and more about reverence…
Prayer is less about word count and more about communication…
Prayer is less about time spent talking and more about time spent with Him…
Sometimes, prayer is quiet and peaceful.
Other times prayer is a battle, an intercession
Still, other times prayer is a cry of desperation.
Then there are prayers that are an URGENT request being made known to God...
Supplication…
We need to return an urgency to our prayers…
It seems like life today is so busy that the only thing that is urgent is the next task we need to get to, but there’s no more important task than prayer…
Can I say it this way? Whatever your mode of prayer, JUST PRAY!
There will be time for all types of prayer, what's important is that we are engaging the God of heaven.
Listen to how the prophet Daniel prayed:
19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Whatever your prayer mode, what is necessary is that you are genuine, not faking, not putting on a show, but earnestly seeking God's face!
Prompt Prayer Music
It is no surprise, when Hezekiah gets devastating news that his first reaction is to do again what he has done before... pray!!!
Maybe you've never prayed before... Maybe you're not in the habit of praying... Now is the time to start...
God moves in response to prayer...
It's not the need of Hezekiah that moved God. God was going to let him die!! It was the Prayer of Hezekiah that moved God...
There are serious NEEDS in the body today. We have some especially pressing needs in this nation.
But a need alone is not going to cause God to move... It is prayer! URGENT prayer... SUPPLICATION type prayer...
There's more to this message, I would love to get into the different facets of prayer, God's answers to prayer, our attitudes in prayer and several other things, but God has laid it on my heart to stop here with time left in the service and spend the rest of the time in corporate prayer for the needs in our body, in our nation, and in the Church today...
This is the significance of supplication… that we present our needs urgently to God…