But I think the thing that makes Hezekiah’s prayer so powerful, is that he didn’t just ask God for deliverance from his enemies. He asked God to show Himself to be the One true God, so that all the earth would know that He alone is the Lord. It’s easy enough for us to plead with God to get us out of a sticky situation when we find ourselves in trouble. But the better prayer is to ask for Him to use the trial we’re in for His glory. Hezekiah wasn’t just trying to save his own neck, he wanted the name of Yahweh to be lifted high, and for all the world to know who He really is. When we pray for God to make Himself known, we can be sure that He will answer! When Satan tries to get us to doubt who God is, we can ask Him to prove Himself to us, and He will never fail us. May we stand firm and rest assured in the truth and knowledge of the One True God, remembering that He is who He says He is, and He can do what He says He can do. May we run to Yahweh, our refuge and deliverer in times of trouble, and may we build our lives on Him even before difficulties arise. And may we seek to not only be rescued from struggles, but to lift up the name of Jesus even in the midst of them. May our lives testify to all the kingdoms of the earth that He alone is God and He alone is worthy.
We have an enemy who loves to intimidate us, and make us feel like our circumstances are bigger and better than God’s ability to rescue and redeem. He tells us that we might as well just give in to temptation because God’s way isn’t really going to be any better. He tells us that we are destined to fail, we’re too small to be successful, we’re too insignificant to be loved, and we’re too inconsequential to be delivered. And most toxic of all, he tells us that God isn’t really who He says He is. So how do we stand firm against the devil and his schemes? How do we trust in God’s goodness and power when the Sennacherib’s in our lives try to intimidate us and make us feel like God isn’t on our side? I think there’s a lot we can learn from Hezekiah’s example of righteousness and faith. Before our story even begins, we see that Hezekiah got rid of the idols of the land, sought to live in obedience to God, and prioritized His holy Presence. If we are intentionally seeking to know, love and worship God when things are going well, then when attacks from the enemy come, we will already be in the habit of looking to Him. The more we can ground ourselves in knowing the truth of who God is, the more we practice following and obeying Him, and the more we make Him the only object of our worship, the better we can position ourselves to overcome the lies of Satan when he tries to bring us down. When we know who our God is, we can remain confident in Him even when our circumstances give us every reason to be afraid. We can remind ourselves in the dark what we knew to be true in the light. Another thing we can learn from Hezekiah’s example is simply to run to God. When Hezekiah found fear crouching at his door, He turned to the One He knew was bigger. When we experience trials and opposition, what is our immediate response? Do we try to figure things out on our own? Do we go to our friends, or to our comfort items? Do we let ourselves become downtrodden and discouraged? Or do we humble ourselves before God and ask for His merciful deliverance, as Hezekiah did? The book of James tells us that we have not because we ask not. Do we ask God for help overcoming Satan’s schemes? Do we ask Him to keep us from temptation and protect us from the evil one? Do we turn our eyes to Jesus when the storms come? Do we cast our cares on Him when we are weary and heavy laden? We need to. I think we often make our own problems worse, and become our own worst enemy simply because we fail to get on our knees in prayer.
Stephanie Weaver
Linda O’Dell describes herself as an “Okie” girl. She is married and has a passion for life. She loves Jesus who healed her of her cancer in 1981. She is extremely passionate about prison ministry. She is now a member with the GIFTS charities Inc. She would love to know what you are passionate about! Lindaprisonmentor@gmail.com Stephanie Weaver is a children's ministry enthusiast who is passionate about teaching kids God's Word, God's character and God's love. When a nearly fatal suicide attempt left her with several physical disabilities including the loss of her voice, writing children's books became a wonderful new avenue for her to continue to teach the kids she loves so dearly, about the loving and faithful God who saved her life and gave her a second chance to live victoriously in Christ. Having grown up as a missionary's kid overseas in Guatemala and Papua New Guinea, Stephanie is passionate about missions and feels called as a missionary to the world's largest unreached people group: KIDS! Contact Info: author@missstephthebibleteacher.com www.missstephthebibleteacher.com Social media: (Facebook and Instagram) @missstephthebibleteacher
36 | Hope Is Now Magazine
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