Tag: 2nd Kings 18-21
Faith and prayer!
Scripture reading for April 15th: 2nd Kings 18-21
In 1980, my wife and I were caught in a financial crisis beyond our ability to fix. We had borrowed money to buy land and equipment and build our farming business and now the interest rates had more than doubled. Many neighbors had lost farms to the banks and creditors because they were unable to pay and our situation looked bad. We had rededicated our lives to the Lord just a few years earlier and as we studied the Word of God, we knew we needed to humble ourselves and ask God for His mercy. Mary and I knelt by our bed in an act of faith and desperation.
Hezekiah, one of the kings of Judah, was a man of faith. Scripture says that he “held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.” (2nd Kings 18:5-6) Because he trusted the Lord, the Lord was with him and he was successful in all he did. One of his first moves was to destroy the bronze snake that Moses had built to stop the plague of serpents in the desert. God’s people had made an idol of it and were burning incense to it! (2nd Kings 18:4)
Hezekiah was tested by the Assyrians. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, the military power of that day, and would not serve him. Assyria captured Samaria and Israel (the ten tribes) in Hezekiah’s sixth year. In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. (2nd Kings 18:13) Hezekiah tried to buy off the king of Assyria with gold from the temple, but a large army showed up surrounding Jerusalem. Hezekiah was told of this situation and he immediately went to the temple to seek the help of God. As he prayed for help, God sent word by the prophet Isaiah that God would deliver them! (2nd Kings 19:6-7)
What are you facing today that seems like a mountain? Go to God in prayer! Go humbly expecting God to hear and answer you! The answer is already on the way! By the way, eight years after we prayed, my wife and I were debt-free!
Faith and Prayer!
Scripture reading for April 14th: 2nd Kings 18-21
In 1980, my wife and I were caught in a financial crisis beyond our ability to handle or fix. We had borrowed money to buy land and equipment and build our farming business and now the interest rates had more than doubled. Many neighbors had lost farms to the banks and creditors because they were unable to pay. Mary and I knelt by our bed and confessed our sin. God heard and showed us mercy!
Hezekiah, one of the kings of Judah, was a man of faith. Scripture says that he “held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.” (2nd Kings 18:5-6) The Lord was with him and he was successful in all he did. One of his first moves was to destroy the bronze snake that Moses had built to stop the plague of serpents in the desert. God’s people had made an idol of it and were burning incense to it! (2nd Kings 18:4)
Hezekiah was tested by the Assyrians. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. Assyria captured Samaria and Israel (the ten tribes) in Hezekiah’s sixth year. In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. (2nd Kings 18:13) Hezekiah tried to buy off the king of Assyria with gold from the temple, but a large army showed up surrounding Jerusalem. Hezekiah was told of this situation and he immediately went to the temple in a humbled posture to seek the help. As he prayed to God, God sent word by the prophet Isaiah that He would intervene and deliver them! (2nd Kings 19:6-7)
Hezekiah let his faith lead him to prayer. His prayer was a humble appeal to the Lord of Heaven. Solomon had prayed earlier at the dedication of the temple for people who were at war and would cry out to God that He would hear and answer! (1st Kings 8:44-45) Prayers said hundreds of years earlier were still being answered!
What are you facing today that seems like a mountain? Go humbly if you need to confess how your own sinful actions led to the trouble. The answer is already on the way! By the way, eight years after we prayed, my wife and I were debt-free! Faith and prayer gives direction and patience!
Prayer Changes the Battlefield!
Scripture reading for April 15th: 2nd Kings 18-21
In today’s reading, the ten tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by the Assyrian army. Scripture records that this happened because they had not obeyed the Lord and had violated the covenant made by Moses. (2nd Kings 18:10-12) This is a familiar reason for defeat or captivity and God’s people were well-warned in the word of God what would happen if they failed to obey! (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) Knowing and doing what God says is something that has eluded mankind since the Garden of Eden.
After the fall of Samaria, Hezekiah, king of Judah, was attacked. Sennacherib, king of Assyria had captured all the fortified cities of Judah and had surrounded Jerusalem, demanding tribute. Hezekiah gave him the gold and silver from the Lord’s temple, but he wanted a complete surrender. He taunted the leaders and people of Jerusalem telling them not to trust in the Lord or Hezekiah. He promised them life if they surrendered and threatened death if they failed to heed. (2nd Kings 18:26-35) His vast army had easily taken Israel and now most of Judah. Things on the battlefield looked grim for those in Jerusalem! King Hezekiah had told the people to remain silent and no one spoke a word.
In response to this bad situation, Hezekiah’s officials went to the king in mourning with torn clothes and sackcloth. The king also tore his clothes and went to the temple to inquire of the Lord. He sent word to Isaiah the prophet for prayer. They desperately needed a word from the Lord. The Lord spoke through Isaiah that day, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard–those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.” (2nd Kings 19:6-7)
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp and the army withdrew from Jerusalem as the Lord had said! Prayer had truly changed the battlefield! The battle wasn’t just with men and chariots but against wicked spiritual forces. When we appeal to the Lord, He alone has resources to bring victory! He alone receives the glory!
Faith and Prayer!
Scripture reading for April 15: 2nd Kings 18-21
In 1980, my wife and I were caught in a financial crisis beyond our ability to handle or fix. We had borrowed money to buy land and equipment and build our farming business and now the interest rates had more than doubled. Many neighbors had lost farms to the banks and creditors because they were unable to pay and our situation looked bad. We had rededicated our lives to the Lord just a few years earlier and as we studied the Word of God, we knew we needed to humble ourselves and repent and ask God for His mercy. Mary and I knelt by our bed and did just that in an act of faith and desperation.
Hezekiah, one of the kings of Judah, was a man of faith. Scripture says that he “held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.” (2nd Kings 18:5-6) Because he trusted the Lord, the Lord was with him and he was successful in all he did. One of his first moves was to destroy the bronze snake that Moses had built to stop the plague of serpents in the desert. God’s people had made an idol of it and were burning incense to it! (2nd Kings 18:4)
Hezekiah was tested by the Assyrians. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, the military power of that day, and would not serve him. Assyria captured Samaria and Israel (the ten tribes) in Hezekiah’s sixth year. In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. (2nd Kings 18:13) Hezekiah tried to buy off the king of Assyria with gold from the temple, but a large army showed up surrounding Jerusalem. Hezekiah was told of this situation and he immediately went to the temple in a humbled posture to seek the help of God. As he prayed for help, God sent word by the prophet Isaiah that God would intervene and deliver them! (2nd Kings 19:6-7)
Hezekiah let his faith lead him to prayer. His prayer was a humble appeal to the Lord of Heaven. It was a confession of helplessness and need. God proved true to His own Word again! Solomon had prayed earlier at the dedication of the temple for people who were at war and would cry out to God that God would hear and answer! (1st Kings 8:44-45) Prayers said hundreds of years earlier are still being answered! God has a good memory!
What are you facing today that seems like a mountain? Go to God in prayer! Let your faith move you to prayer action. Go humbly if you need to confess how your own sinful actions led to the trouble. Go expecting God to hear and answer you! The answer is already on the way! By the way, eight years after we prayed, my wife and I were debt-free! Faith and prayer gives direction and patience!