Thursday, May 7, 2015

Facing a Crisis

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.  And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : ‘O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.  Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

‘It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.  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.  Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.’

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the LORD has spoken against him. . .’” (Isaiah 37:14-22 NIV)

Hezekiah was facing a monumental crisis.  The king of the mighty Assyrian empire was threatening his nation with destruction. “Surrender or die” was the message he sent to Hezekiah.  Out of desperation, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord.  

There were a lot of things he could have done.  He could have rallied his people and vowed never to surrender.  He could have turned tail and ran to save his own life.  Or, to save the lives of his people, he could have laid down his weapons and let the king of Assyria have his way.  He did none of these things.  Instead, he prayed.

Sometimes, sincere prayer is the last thing we do when we are facing difficult times.  Rather, we turn to ourselves believing somehow by our efforts we can save the situation.  Or we turn to others thinking they are the answer to our dilemma.  Or we just seek to distract ourselves with other things, trying to ignore what’s happening around us.  

Hezekiah prayed, and the Lord said because he prayed the Assyrian army outside the walls of Jerusalem would be destroyed.  And the Lord did exactly as He said He would.  The next day the vast majority of the Assyrian encampment was dead (Isaiah 37:36-37).  

Is there a crisis in your life that you are facing?  Have you sincerely and fervently gone to the Lord in prayer?  As He did for Hezekiah, know the Lord will help you when you pray.

© Jim Musser 2015

No comments: