Call the Lord In Times of Need
Two historical events dominate
the narrative in Isaiah 36-39:
the attempted invasion of Judah
by the Assyrian army in 701 BC
and the critical illness threatening
King Hezekiah’s life. The taunts of
the Assyrian invaders are turned
into retreat as 185,000 die at the
hand of the angel of the Lord –
a direct answer to Hezekiah’s
specific prayer. God answers
another of Hezekiah’s prayers
by extending his life 15 years.
But by using those extra years for
selfish pursuits rather than for God’s
purposes, Hezekiah seals the fate
of the nation. The stage is set for
Babylon to conquer and carry off
the people of Judah, bringing down the curtain on God’s judgment.
Dear Lord, we praise and thank You
that You are all powerful, all trust
worthy and all compassionate.
We will Clearly Know Your Word.
We will Trust Your Perfect Plan.
We will Cry to You for Help.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, we’ll Clearly Know Your Word:
Then Rabshakeh said to them:
Say now to Hezekiah: Thus says
the great king, the king of Assyria:
What confidence is this in which
you trust? I say you speak of
having plans and power for war;
but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? (Isaiah 36:4-5).
Lord, we realise that we not need
to be sinful to be ineffective for You
God for we only need to be confused
about what You want. To avoid
Satan’s deceit, help us to study
Your Word regularly and carefully.
For when we know what God says,
we’ll not fall into Satan’s lies. Amen.
Lord, we Trust Your Perfect Plan:
Hezekiah prayed: O Lord of hosts…
You have made heaven and earth.
Incline Your ear O Lord and hear all
the words of Sennacherib, which he
has sent to reproach the living God…
Therefore O Lord our God save us from his hand that all the kingdoms
of the earth may know You are the
Lord. Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah
saying: Thus says the Lord, Because
you have prayed to Me against
Sennacherib king of Assyria, this
is the word the Lord concerning him:
I decided this long ago. I planned it, and now I am making it happen, that
u shld be for crushing fortified cities
into heaps of ruins (Isa37:15-21,26)
Lord, how comforting to know that
when we call on You, You answer us.
We don’t have to know all the details
because we trust that You are
moving all things in the direction
that You have planned. Amen.
Lord, we will Cry to You for Help:
In those days Hezekiah was sick and
near death. And Asaiah said to him:
Thus says the Lord: Set your house
in order for you shall die & not live.
Then Hezekiah… prayed to the Lord
and said: Remember O Lord I pray
how I have walked before You in
truth & with a loyal heart, and have
done what is good in Your sight.
And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the
word of the Lord came to Isaiah:
I will add to your days 15 years…
And this is the sign to you from
the Lord… Behold I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun… ten degrees backward (Isaiah 38:1-8).
Lord, I will cry out to You for healing.
I can’t assume that the absence of
a sign means “no” for it may simply mean that U want to speak another way. But when U do speak this way,
it will be so very encouraging. Amen