Our Bible verse for today: “Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.” Isaiah 37:14 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Bring everything to God.”
Hezekiah was a good king. After years of godless and evil leadership under his father Ahaz, Hezekiah spent years painstakingly leading the nation back to faithful obedience of the One True God. Hezekiah was a good man who loved the Lord and who led the people well. As a result, the nation was blessed by God.
However at one point the army of Assyria came and surrounded the city. The army was huge and powerful and there was no way Hezekiah and Judah could prevail against them. The commander of the army sent Hezekiah a written letter demanding immediate full surrender or else he would destroy the city, slaughter the people, and take Hezekiah captive.
Hezekiah knew the threat was real. There was no way his people could withstand the onslaught of the Assyrians. So he took the threatening letter, went into the temple, knelt at the altar, spread the letter out on the altar before God, and he talked to God about the situation. He affirmed that only God could get them out of this and then he pleaded with God for divine intervention. Well God heard, He responded, and the Assyrian army was defeated.
I love this scene of Hezekiah kneeling at the altar, with the actual letter spread out on the altar before God, and pleading with God for help and deliverance. That’s powerful – and effective.
At Oak Hill Baptist Church we frequently have people come and kneel at the altar as they pray to God about issues they are facing. It’s a symbolic act of surrender and faith, and it is one that God honors.
One of the key aspects of a life well spent is that the person is a pray-er who frequently brings all the issues of life to God in prayer. God is interested in the big issues and in the small ones. He wants us to actually invite Him into all the moments of our lives. Of course He is already aware of it all, but He wants us to actually bring it to Him and ask Him to help us with it. He wants to be asked to be a part of everything we have going on.
I encourage you to bring everything to God in prayer. Pray frequently. Pray with passion and intensity. Actually lay the symbolic letter out before Him and talk to Him about it. The more you involve God in your situations the better your life will be.
Oak Hill Baptist Church