Faithwebbin.net > Witness Walk

The History

In those Hezekiah became deadly ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.---II Kings 20:1

The Prayer

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying,

I beseech You, O Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.---II Kings 2:3

The Answer

Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him:

Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

I will add to your life fifteen years and deliver you and this city [Jerusalem] out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.---II Kings 4-6

If, after reading this, the first thing that comes to your mind is "Wow Shellie, what a morbid way to begin the day", then you're missing it...totally. There is a real blessing and lesson that we can gain from Hezekiah's prayer.

Just when things seemed bleak, hopeless---final in his life, things turned completely around in a matter of moments. Not due to a meeting of intercessors. Not because the pastor put oil on his forehead. Not because his mother was prostrate all night on his behalf.

No, it was because Hezekiah boldly went to the Father and PRAYED FOR HIMSELF.

Sometimes I reflect over my life and the lives of those I care about and it amazes me how so often we tend to live with such a defeated attitude---as if we are doomed. That's right, doomed (inevitable destruction or ruin)! We come up on hard times financially and when we cannot find an immediate solution, we pronounce ourselves doomed. We receive a "challenged" health report and when the doctors tell us that there is no hope, we pronounce ourselves doomed. We come to the end of a relationship, vocation or location and because we are unable to see into the future, we pronounce ourselves doomed.

How disappointed in us God must be. Here we are, made in the image of Him, the almighty, the all-knowing, the all-present God, and yet when obstacles come our way, we throw in the towel, spiritually, physically and emotionally. Shoot, even the Enemy knows better than that, and HE IS DOOMED.

Now, isn't that a frightening thought? The devil has more tenacity than we have, and he already knows that no matter what he does, he will be defeated. Ugh, right? So, what can we do about it? How can we find ways to not let our circumstances stiffle us? How can we stand strong in the midst of what seems like eminent destruction in any area of our lives?

We can do just what Hezekiah did. We can take it to the Father---we can plead our case. In the several months that I have been writing these devotionals, I have met all kinds of people---Christians, Muslims; believers, non-believers; heterosexuals, homosexuals; happily married couples and single parents, but the group of people who always blow my mind are the ones who do not believe in dialogue with God. How can you have a relationship with anyone if there is no dialogue?

"Shellie, don't tell people that they can ask God questions. That is disrespectful."

"Shellie, don't encourage people to share their feelings with God unless they agree with God. He will not bless them if they do so."

Sometimes I wonder just how limited these people's lives are because of this mindset. If there is anything that God is not, its intimidated by our problems, our viewpoints, our questions. No, what I have come to realize is that He often has issues with us ACCEPTING His responses to our problems, our viewpoints, our questions.

Which is what I love about Hezekiah. Seemingly on his deathbed, he mustered up enough strength, enough courage, enough tenacity to plead his case. The Lord told him that he would die and immediately Hezekiah asked if he could live. If he had accepted his fate and remained silent, he would have been dead---that would have been it. In choosing to come to God, his health was restored, years were added to his life, and protection was granted. God honored both his faithfulness and the confidence that Hezekiah had in it.

But there is still something else that can be learned; be sure not to overlook how Hezekiah handled the initial report. After the Lord told him that he would die, he knew his time was precious---he knew that he needed to use it wisely. Therefore, he did not spend the next few uncertain hours calling all of the church members for prayer or donating all of his money to televangelists in hopes of buying more time, nor did not make an appointment for the next week to meet with his pastor or call every friend that he had to share his bad news. No, he immediately prayed to God about his situation FOR HIMSELF.

Now, are all of these other methods wrong? No, not necessarily. But what I got out of this is that Hezekiah knew that this situation was concerning him and the only person who could really do anything about it was God. All the money, medication, and meditations could not reverse his situation, ONLY GOD could, so why not go to the source of the solution?

So many of us are in trying and challenging times. Your loved ones may be at war and the odds are telling you that they will not return alive. Your marriage may be in shambles and all of the circumstances are pointing towards divorce. Your finances may be a wreck and your car seems to be on its last leg. Your health may be draining your energy and your doctors are telling you that you must plan your last months or days. Your reputation may be tarnished and all of your enemies are sentencing you to a life of isolation. In many ways, these are all death sentences---if you let them be.

This is not the time to take your trials lying down. This is the time to get up (physically and spiritually) and take them to the Father. Now catch this: A big part of the reason God granted Hezekiah's request is because Hezekiah was right---he WAS obedient, he WAS faithful, he WAS humble. Many of us may be running to everyone but God because we do not have this same report---we are praying that someone else's anointing will grant our requests.

Trust me, its not worth the gamble. If you have been given a death sentence on some area in your life, time is running out! Don't worry about what tradition may have taught you, what your friends may have told you, what the Enemy is throwing at you. This is the time to follow the example of Hezekiah. Get right with God, then go to Him on your behalf.

Like Hezekiah, your life very well could change, for the better...in a matter of moments!

Shellie R. Warren/2003