Come to Me – Day 8
Hezekiah’s prayer
Um(Imi)bhalo weBhayibheli
U-Isaya 37
U-Isaya 37
We have been reading about King Hezekiah and his ever-increasing problems. He gets a message from the commander of the Assyrian armies, who have surrounded Jerusalem, containing the terms of surrender. How does Hezekiah respond?
He goes straight up to the temple of the Lord and spreads the letter before the Lord.
Would my first response have been to go into God’s presence and pray? Would I have been concerned for how insulted God would have felt over these words? Would I have called upon God to defend himself by defending me?
Hezekiah knew who he could depend on. If you read his whole prayer (Isaiah 37:16-20), you’ll notice that Hezekiah addressed his prayer to ‘Lord Almighty’, ‘God of Israel’, ‘God’ (twice), ‘Lord’ (four times). Hezekiah relies on the position and character of God Almighty, a God who is ‘enthroned’, ‘over all’, and who ‘made heaven and earth’. In addition, he gets straight to the point. He asks God to ‘hear’, to ‘see’, to ‘listen’, and finally, to ‘deliver’ him and his people.
In Hezekiah’s prayer, we see boldness, dependence, trust and an understanding of the nature of God. Hezekiah understands his own limitations; that he is weak and there is only one place to go for his defence.
Also, notice that Hezekiah does not just pray for his own safety, but for the glory and name of the Lord, and for the unreached people around him to know the name of the Lord and honour him.
Does your prayer reflect the missionary heart of God?
