In Isaiah 36-37 Hezekiah and his people are under a vicious attack. It would have been easy for Hezekiah to pray from his own perspective “the enemy is beating up on us. He is taunting us, telling us how defenseless and weak we are. We might as well give up. We can’t be saved. It’s hopeless.” Our prayers don’t have to be limited to what we can think of to ask for. God is far greater and more creative.
Hezekiah knew this enemies were great, but He also knew God was great. Hezekiah prayed God sized prayers. Beginning in Isaiah 37:15, Hezekiah aligns himself with God’s perspective. Hezekiah prayed, acknowledging God is mighty and enthroned in heaven.
And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: Lord Almighty, 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.
In verses 17-19 he acknowledges what is true, the situation is dire.
Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.“It is true, 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.
But in verse 20 he comes back to “Now, God, You can act for Your glory.”
Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.
I counted 85 words in that prayer in my translation. The result was that an angel killed 185,000 Assyrians, a far bigger victory than Hezekiah could have imagined to pray for. God assured Hezekiah in Isaiah 37:32 that the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.
Anybody for praying this way? Use Hezekiah’s prayer as a model.
Proclaim the greatness of who God is in the midst of what you are going through.
Be honest with God about your situation sharing your heart with Him.
Then ask “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” for the glory of His kingdom.
You may be amazed at the size of God’s answer.
© Sylvia Gunter, 2014, 2018. Sylvia is the founder of The Father’s Business and has authored over 15 books. Her passion is to lead people into a deeper understanding of God’s heart through prayer.
An archive of past devotionals is available at www.thefathersbusiness.com
40 Day Calendar: Seeking God’s Heart With Prayer And Fasting
This 40 day calendar is taken from Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence Volume 1. It is not date specific so you can start it anytime God leads you to seek Him in prayer for 40 days. The front has specific topics and verses to pray each day for yourself, your family, the church, your community and world. The back includes a biblical foundation for praying and fasting. This is a great tool for prayer groups to use.
$2.00 each, 10 or more $1.50 each
