March 30, 2023 - 2 Kings 18-20

During his reign, king Hezekiah found himself in a very bad predicament, with the city of Jerusalem surrounded by the Assyrians and in danger of falling. He had tried his own schemes to rescue the city, or at least to enable it to withstand the siege over a long time. But things began to look hopeless. And then, finally listening to the counsel of Isaiah, he prayed. And the Lord delivered. Again, a very real, historical situation with application to us. We should pray. We should ask from the Lord what we need. This does not mean that we do not take personal responsibility for our various situations. It does not mean that we do not use our God-given intellect to reason through circumstances. It does not mean that we do not seek to solve our problems. Yet, prayer should be our first response to any challenge or danger. If, in prayer, God tells us to do this or do that, then we must. But prayer will be our first response as it should have been for Hezekiah.

O for a heart to praise my God,

a heart from sin set free;

a heart that’s sprinkled with the blood

so freely shed for me:

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,

my great Redeemer’s throne;

where only Christ is heard to speak,

where Jesus reigns alone:

A humble, lowly, contrite heart,

believing, true, and clean,

which neither life nor death can part

from him that dwells within. –Charles Wesley (1742)