Manasseh’s Prayer

Intro

2 Chronicles 33:12–19 NIV

In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God. The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself—all these are written in the records of the seers. 

Manasseh. Manasseh was a king, a king of Judah.

Something is off. A king imprisoned, a king in chains.

Manasseh’s religion:

He built altars to Baal;

He burned his son as an offering.

Sermon’s outline. Regarding Manasseh’s prayer I want to stress:

Manasseh’s condition

Manasseh’s repentance

Manasseh’s commitment

Manasseh’s Record

N. 1 - Manasseh’s Condition

Hopeless. Alone, far from home, in disgrace, in chains, treated like an animal.

N. 2 - Manasseh’s Repentance

His repentance was great. He did not just shed a few tears, but his whole being was involved in humbling himself before God.

N. 3 - Manasseh’s Commitment

Manasseh destroys and builds. When Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, he builds walls and gates and destroys the old idols.

Once we leave this place, once this prayer meeting is over, we will be called by the Holy Spirit to build what is destroyed and to destroy what we have built.

N. 4 - Manasseh’s Record

Prayer. Manasseh made many mistakes, but what remains in the royal chronicles of his reign are not only his bad deeds, but also his prayer to His God.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter how low we are or how far we are from God.

Let us humble ourselves before God and He will move among His people.