In 2 Kings chapter 20 we find Hezekiah, the thirteenth king of Judah, sick unto death. The prophet Isaiah came to him with a message from the Lord. Hezekiah was to set his house in order for he was to die. Now I don't know about you but if I was told I was going to die I believe I'd panic. I'd hoop and holler and carry on like a crazy person. What did Hezekiah do? Hezekiah immediately began to pray to the Lord.
2 Kings 20:3
I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
To beseech means to implore urgently, to beg eagerly, to make urgent appeal.
In verse 5 we find the Lord's answer to Hezekiah's prayer.
2 Kings 20:5
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
It would be simple to interpret these passages and say that all we must do is pray to the Lord and He will heal us, He will give us what we want. But there is so much more to this scripture than that. There was Hezekiah's faith, there was Hezekiah's urgent and eager prayer, and there was Hezekiah's walk of truth and his perfect heart. He had done the things that were good in the Lord's sight. Can we say that? Do we bend to God's will and heed His call to do what He asks of us? Do we walk in truth? Do we have a perfect heart? And what of our faith? Do we have enough faith to turn immediately to God in prayer upon receipt of life altering news? Do we pray urgently and eagerly, begging the Lord to hear our prayers? Hezekiah did.
2 Kings 18:3
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.
2 Kings 18:6
For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.
Hezekiah received mighty high praise from the Lord and for his faith and righteousness the Lord heard his cry and healed him. The Lord added 15 years to his life and delivered him and the city out of the hand of the Assyrian king. We cannot simply pray to God when something is wrong, when life takes a turn for the worse. We have to live according to God's Word. We have to live faithfully, righteously, and prayerfully. And if we do, He will hear our prayer, He will see our tears, and He will heal us.
Don't worry. God is never blind to your tears, never deaf to your prayers, and never silent to your pain. He sees, He hears and He will deliver.Psalms 18:1-3, 6 KJV1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
If there is one thing that I could pinpoint that threatens my faith in The Lord, it would be worry and anxiety. I am guilty each and every day of worrying, whether I've got anything to worry about or not. If I had a million dollars in the bank, was debt free, had a perfect marriage and perfect children, I'd undoubtedly find something to worry about. We can say that to worry is human nature but the truth is to worry is a sinner's nature. Worry is a surefire way for the devil to break down our faith. It creeps in when you'd least expect it. Suddenly your worries are bigger than The Lord, bigger than The God who holds the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand. When you step back and think of it like that it seems ridiculous. How can my worry be bigger than The Creator of the universe? Well, it can't. Psalms 55:22 tells us to Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. We must go to Him in prayer, each and every day, because worry plagues us each and every day. When you feel that queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach and you know it's your nerves, drop to your knees and pray. Cast your burdens upon The Lord and He will hear you and He will deliver you. It may not be the deliverance you thought it'd be, but He will deliver.
Brandon called me this morning and told me that he had started a website for our ministry. I was excited. Until I started trying to build and edit the website. I have no experience with this or even blogging. I immediately became overwhelmed and frustrated. Which quickly defeated the purpose in our website, which is a place to go for comfort from The Lord. I had to take a step back and breathe.
Psalms 3:3 KJV But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
He is my shield and my glory. He lifts my head when I am weak, weary, frustrated and overwhelmed. I have no idea exactly how I am going to accomplish running a website and a blog with 2 rowdy toddler boys running around, but I do know this; My strength is in Him and this ministry is for His Glory and His Honor. So today we begin a new adventure.
The website is currently under construction but this is the link. We are praying that we will have it up and running soon. We appreciate your prayers as well.
helpthehurt.org
