SERMON: “THE ALWAYS GOD: ALWAYS HEARING” 2 KINGS 19:14-19; 32-34

Scripture:

2 Kings 19:14-19; 32-34

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

16 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands.

18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.

19 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.

33 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord.

34 I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”

Big Idea:

The objective of this message today is to point out that prayer matters—it changes things but most importantly, it changes us to know that God is always listening.

Introduction:

- Over the past couple of weeks, we determined that God is always speaking

- We know that He uses creation, conscience, Christ, the counsel of the Holy Spirit, the church…

- Because He absolutely wants to talk with us

- Regardless of the time period—past or today—He speaks to mankind

- So, we know that He’s speaking but He’s also listening

- I know that there are the five love languages but I believe that God’s love language is prayer

- God is continually calling upon man, woman, boy or girl to pray

- He does that because He still listens and hears prayers today

- Most of us at one point have received an invitation—be it to a party, concert, to join a club—

- An invitation can breed excitement and anticipation

- So what if I told you that God has an invitation for you specifically?

- And this is not like any old invitation…for a music/dvd/home shopping network club

- No, this invitation has lasting benefits/eternal significance

- When we think about an invitation on the surface…

- It means that we’ve been considered that someone thought of us

- Now, when we consider the fact that it is God who is sending the invitation

- It takes on a whole, different meaning

- That He is not only speaking…He is listening; He wants to hear from me

- The Creator of the Universe wants to hear my thoughts and concerns while I get to truly know Him

- I don’t think it gets any better than God inviting His children to get to know Him…to communicate with Him…

- And grow in relationship with Him

- Prayer can seem like its routine but above all it’s critical to our connection with God

- Old Testament king Hezekiah found out the power of prayer in this passage and in his reign

- God lets the king know that He is on the side of His people, Israel

- Today, the fact hasn’t changed that God is still for His people

- You can’t help but be encouraged when God’s Word says:

Jer. 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

- Or,

Acts 2:21 – “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

- Yet, surprisingly, though we hear those verses, prayer for the Christian can be challenging to practice regularly

- The discipline and method of prayer has challenged so many Christians in the church age

- Sure there are those “quick and easy” prayers we pray…

- Over a meal, once and awhile for our children, or Lord change our situation

- Still when it comes to prayer as our habit or our lifestyle, we struggle

- I know that I can attest to this, “Have you ever had those moments when you struggled to pray?”

- Those moments when you drifted off when you were praying

- Whether you were bored, stressed or tired, admittedly you found it difficult to pray

- Add to the fact that we have an unseen enemy that is looking to challenge us on every front

- Satan will fight us “tooth and nail” to keep us from “calling on the name of the Lord”

- God’s invitation for us to pray gives me motivation to pursue Him at every angle whenever I can

- We are blessed with a wonderful privilege to serve a God who still hears

- Don’t allow yourselves to be that group that chooses not to accept His invitation to pray…

- In thinking your prayers don’t matter

Transition: With Hezekiah we’re going to focus on reaching out to God

Message:

Background:

- When we look at the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles,

- Israel had its history of good and evil kings

- History records 33 evil kings compared to only 5 good, godly kings

- The evil kings were all about outdueling one another or outdoing one another as they sinned against God

- So, when Hezekiah comes on the scene we come to see that He is one of the godly kings

- He has a heart that is bent towards God

- History records that he was only 25 years old when he became king

- And listen to what Scripture states (2 Kings 18:5-6),

“He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses.”

- Most of us have heard that David was a man after God’s heart

- Some theologians, arguably, have deemed Hezekiah to be the best

- And, truly it’s not about good, better, best…

- But to have that conversation says a lot about who Hezekiah was

- He was a man of integrity with great character

- Hezekiah had faith and trusted in the Lord

- And, I mention that about Hezekiah

- Because though He was a great king...realize He was also a man

- Someone created from the dust…in the image of God

- He wasn’t perfect meaning that what He was able to do; we are capable of as well

- In fact, prayer doesn’t require us to be perfect

- God knows that…the posture of our heart to Him means something

- It not just about our physical posture, prayer length or correct verbiage

- Hezekiah was facing a national crisis

- And, some of us, may not be facing an immediate national crisis

- We are facing some urgent issues

- Family situations, financial, career and job crises, relationship hurdles

- Of all we are adjusting to and coping with;

- Hezekiah serves as a good example to reach out to God in prayer

- Listen to this other instance of Hezekiah praying,

2 Kings 20:1-5 – “In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. 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; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: 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.”

- Of course, the commonality in both passages is that Hezekiah prayed

- The more spectacular thing is that God heard his prayer and responded

- It’s all about healthy prayer

- But, what do we mean by healthy prayer? What does that even look like?

- Prayer is not our specific formula to grab God’s attention and ear

- Some look at God as asking Santa to give a gift or granting a wish

- God is definitely not like that…God desires a relationship

- Years ago, I was taught that we are to desire His presence more than His presents

- From Scripture, it seems that Hezekiah understood that

- I mentioned this earlier but throughout God’s Word we discover that:

Healthy prayer includes a healthy posture.

- We see many different postures of prayer in the Bible from sitting to kneeling—to standing or with our hands lifted up

- We can pray with our eyes closed to shut out distractions or with our eyes open as we’re driving

- Please pray with your eyes open while you’re driving especially here in LA County

- When it comes to our physical posture, author Mark Batterson writes,

“Physical posture is an important part of prayer. It’s like a prayer within a prayer. Posture is to prayer as tone is to communication. If words are what you say, then posture is how you say it….physical postures help posture our hearts and minds.”

- But let our hearts be in the right posture towards God

- I think we can all agree that Hezekiah’s heart was in the right posture to God

- If your physical posture sets you in the right position to offer prayer to God…

- And your humility is tied to that posture, then by all means pursue it

- I’m reminded of Jesus’ concerns in prayer…for us not to use vain (meaningless) repetitions

- He doesn’t want us to be concerned with word count, flowery expressions, or mantras;

- The Heavenly Father desires “truth in the inward being” (Psalm 51:6, ESV)

- There’s no better place than to be truthful with God in our secret place with Him

- Hezekiah was facing a front by the enemy and in a situation where His life hangs in the balance

- Some may say that he throws up a “Hail Mary” prayer

- But actually it’s deeper than that because of the relationship that He had with God

- We see that He laid out His concerns before God

- That’s been my experience…how about you?

- It goes so far as to say that Hezekiah wept bitterly

- In those moments, he shows his humility along with his brokenness before God

- I believe that God heard Hezekiah’s tears and heart more than his words

- These words alone move me,

2 Kings 19:15 – “And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.”

- He recognizes that God is sovereign and rules over all

- We would be wise to follow his lead

- The world does not revolve around us and it’s when we think that it does…

- That’s where we err

- The truth of the matter is there is Someone greater

- Humility leads us to and honors Him

Proverbs 22:4 – The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life

- This was not a one-time thing for Hezekiah

- I find myself believing that he cultivated that posture over his life

- It’s one thing to have that “one shot approach” to prayer… hoping and wishing for God to answer

-But, what would God prefer?

- No one, God included, wants to be looked at as a wishbox or a Santa Claus

- No, when it comes down to it, as we value relationship

- God values relationship with Him, with His Son

- That’s where the treasure is

- And, maybe that’s where the answers to our prayers are held up?

- Maybe the connection is not strong

- As with a cellphone, are we experiencing dropped call after call?

- Is there a pride versus humility issue?

- Maybe it’s one of the following…

1) Unbelief:

Ps. 10:4 – “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

- This may seem contradictory to what I said but we must pray believing in any situation

- I’m going to champion a relationship first and foremost every single

- Next, I will always say that we should pray believing

- Know that God hears your prayer

Another reason that God may not respond to prayer…

2) Selfishness:

James 4:3 – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your own passions.”

- Have you ever questioned your motives in prayer? Is it really something that God wants for you?

- We all have hopes, dreams and desires but what happens when they rise up against what God wants for us?

- Asking for the wrong reasons coupled with the wrong motives

can lead us to unanswered prayers

- We will benefit from our prayers…but self does not need to be at the center of our prayer

- It is not solely our motivation

Another reason that God may not respond to prayer…

3) Disobedience:

- Imagine if you can, a child that refuses to his or her parent

- How willing is the parent to want to answer that child’s prayer?

- The love is there…but the willingness to answer is not urgent

- And God is not like mankind but listen to what He says here:

Ps. 66:18 – “If I regard sin and baseness in my heart [that is, if I know it is there and do nothing about it], The Lord will not hear [me]; (AMP)

Prov. 28:9 – “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

- God invites to pray as He wants to connect with us

- However, that does not give us freedom to do whateverwe want to do

One more reason that God may not respond to prayer…

4) Fractured Relationship:

- Whether it be our daily or intimate relationships, God is concerned about our part in those relationships

Mark 11:25 – “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

1 Pet. 3:7 – “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

- God honors and values people—our coworkers, neighbors, brother and sisters in and out of Christ as individuals,

- He wants us to do the same

Closing:

- There is so much that I can continue to say on this subject but for the sake of time I am going to have to close

- As I close, if you noticed just about every reason our prayers are hindered, not responded to…are linked to pride

- It’s that very thing that got Satan, our common enemy, kicked out of Heaven

- If we can allow the Holy Spirit to search our heart, our posture begins to change

- And that’s what He is looking to do so He can answer our prayers

- Let’s close out in prayer

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!