Rely on the Power of Prayer
Notes
Transcript
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Have you ever been to a resort, perhaps for a family vacation or another trip? What makes resorts different from regular old hotels is that there is sort of one stop shop for all relaxing. Resorts will often have vacation packages that provide all the food and activities you could one during your stay so you really have to leave the property. But sometimes the cost of these vacations could be pretty ridiculous. I heard of one resort on an island in the Bahamas where are you could actually get Bahamas where are you could actually get all the other resort guest to choose all the other resort guest during your stay. Of course, to get your choice, you have to also rent the entire island for the low, low price of a $37,000 each night. seriously! Some of the resorts anatomies are personalized firework shows and real life treasure hunts, but of course those aren’t included in the regular price.
There are things we can do to relax and fine rejuvenation. After a tough day ordering a trial, but I doubt most of us can afford to omit an island to do it. Do you know how Hezekiah did it? He went directly to God in prayer. I wants heard a pastor say, “there’s no such resort for the troubled soul as God himself,“ in Hezekiah no doubt found that to be true. He knew there was no higher authority he could turn for help, so he went straight to the source. Prayer should be the foundation, not our fall back. Treating prayer like the last kid picked in the schoolyard kickball game, prayer should be the first pic, or our top priority.
What I love about the way Hezekiah prayed is but it was so significant. God knows every single detail of our lives and our actions, so he knew exactly what was happening with Sennacherib. He knew every word of the letter that Hezekiah had just read. Yet Hezekiah picked up the pages of the letter and took them with him to the house of the Lord to pray. This wasn’t Just any old prayer; it was an amazing prayer. We find a pattern that we can use for prayer in our lives.
Accuracy
Accuracy
And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
Second Kings 19
That’s kind of an old thing to do. What do you think might’ve been going on in his mind? I think this was an act of surrender. By spreading out the pages of the letter before God, Hezekiah was saying, “I want to put it all on the table. I’ll leave no detail out.” I put in every word that the letter before the Lord, he could I think this was an act of surrender. By spreading out the pages of the letter before God, Hezekiah was saying, “I want to put it all on the table. I’ll leave no detail out.” I put in every word of the letter before the Lord, he could do be Specific in his prayer and get the details right; not just, “Lord, Sennacherib is saying I’m ugly things about you,” but “Lord, here is exactly what he wrote.” While it may have been wise to tell everyone around him the details of this letter, he knew he could pour out his heart to God.
Where do you spread of the details of things that trouble you? Do you take them directly to the Lord? Or do you settle for talking to your neighbors, friends or coworkers?
Adoration
Adoration
Hezekiah opened his prayer by acknowledging the greatness of God:
And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
When I was younger, I remember sometimes I’d come into the house from school or after playing with my friends with a burning question for my mom. I would hardly get a word out before I did start telling her what I needed. Sometimes she just listen and give me the answer, but other times she start me and say, “well, hello to you, two” or “hi mom, how was your day?” In the voice that meant this was what I was supposed to be saying to her. My mom’s point was that it was rude to just approach her and start asking for things I needed without acknowledging the one who I needed them from. See, before giving God our requests, we need to give Him our reverence. Hezekiah needed something desperately from God, but he wasn’t about to jump in and just start asking without showing that he knew exactly where his health was coming from.
Appeal
Appeal
Next, Hezekiah asked for what he needed:
Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
what was the last thing you prayed for really hard? Any times, teens I’m more concerned with asking for the latest gadgets or game systems or attention someone they’re interested in then getting gods help with what really matters. Hezekiah didn’t plead with the Lord for a new iPhone or to finally get a girlfriend; he appealed forgot to answer and put a stop to sin.
Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment
In verses 17-18, Hezekiah admitted Zachariah was a dangerous enemy who had done everything he claimed, but there was one difference between Judah and those other nations:
Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
The other nations worshiped false gods who were powerless to help them, that’s why they were defeated. Hezekiah acknowledged that God what is the one true God and that’s why Jerusalem was still standing.
Aim
Aim
Hezekiah closed his prayer by telling God exactly what he hoped to get out of the situation:
Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.
Hezekiah‘s motivation was not fame or pride in his position. His only desire was to glorify the Lord before that heathen army. What motivates your prayers? Do you ask God for things that will only benefit you or other people you love? or do you ask him for the things I will help you show others his love, grace, and salvation?
To me, one of the best parts about Hezekiah‘s prayer was what happened right after:
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
God heard Hezekiah‘s prayer. Isn’t it amazing that we serve a God who not only knows everything about us but also wants to hear from us through prayer so he can meet our needs?
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Grayson clamp was born with a condition that left him with a heart defect, no sight in one eye, and no hearing, as he was missing the auditory nerves that carry sound to the brain. In 2013, Dr. successfully performed an extremely experimental surgery that allowed Grayson to here for the first time. When Grayson heard his father speaking to him for the first time, he was so excited you could just see his eyes and his whole face light up with joy.
Do you know our heavenly father finds joy and hearing our voices? He delights in our communicating with him regularly through prayer. So then why do we sometimes go for days or longer without spending quality time with God in this way? Hezekiah knew it is he was to experience success in this time of struggle, it was only to be done as he drew closer to God through prayer. Time with God gave him the strength he needed not to just survive Hezekiah‘s last attack, by to thrive through it.
when’s the last time you spent time with God to get his strength for your struggles?