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10.05.2020 Feature Article

Don’t Underestimate Prayer Or The Power Of God

Dont Underestimate Prayer Or The Power Of God
10.05.2020 LISTEN

“14Hezekiah 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. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

16Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. 17"It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. 19Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God." (2 Kings 19:14-19).

What is the first thing you do when you receive very bad and life-threatening news? Do you run to your doctor, pastor, fetish priest, parent, spouse, family, friend, teacher, other people, or handle it by yourself using your own knowledge and abilities? One king of Judah received the very bad news that the city of Jerusalem was going to be attacked by the powerful Assyrian King Sennacherib. Forget Sennacherib’s powerful army; the name alone may be intimidating enough to send some chills through your ribs and spines!

Earlier, Sennacherib had attacked and captured other fortified cities in Judah, and King Hezekiah had made peace with him by agreeing to pay silver and gold demanded by Sennacherib. However, he wanted more; he wanted to add Jerusalem to his conquests and he sent a message to Hezekiah. Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, went to the temple, and sent his officials and priests to consult with the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah conveyed a message to them that the king should not be afraid and that Sennacherib would return to his country and would be killed there.

Sennacherib was bent on capturing Jerusalem, so he sent a more threatening message to Hezekiah, warning him not to let the god he served deceive him and detailing some of his conquests and how their gods could not save them. This time around, Hezekiah did not send messengers to the Prophet Isaiah. Instead, he took the letter containing the bad news to the temple, spread it before the Lord, and prayed to the Lord as indicated above.

King Hezekiah’s approach is a good example for all of us. First, even though he was afraid of the enemy, he did not let fear conquer him to the point of surrender. He took seriously what Sennacherib was saying that he had conquered a number of kings and kingdoms whose gods could not protect them. Second, he had faith in the power of the God of Israel to protect him. Third, he demonstrated good leadership in the middle of a crisis. From the very beginning, he involved his officials, priests, and the Prophet Isaiah, but when the threats continued, he took personal ownership of the situation and did not defer to others to pray for him even though the matter affected all the people in Judah. He made his appeal directly to God on behalf of the people of Judah (See 2 Kings Chapters 18 and 19).

In his prayer, Hezekiah acknowledged the all-powerful God who created heaven and earth, and who alone is the true God over all kingdoms. He asked God to hear, see, and listen to the insults Sennacherib had directed at Him. He brought to God’s attention the several conquests and destructions by Sennacherib and other Assyrian kings. And he asked God to deliver him and the people of Judah from Sennacherib so that all kingdoms on earth would know that He alone is God.

God answered his prayer. King Hezekiah received a message from the Prophet Isaiah that God had heard his prayer; that God was unhappy with the way Sennacherib had insulted Him; and that He would defend Jerusalem and would not allow Sennacherib to enter and destroy it. “That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.” (2 Kings 19: 35-36 NIV).

That was not the first time God had personally and divinely intervened to give victory to His children. When five kings of the Amorites joined forces to attack Gibeon because the Gibeonites had made a peace treaty with Israel, the Gibeonites requested help, and Joshua and his Israeli army went to protect Gibeon. God threw the armies of the five kings into confusion and Israel defeated them, and they started to flee (Joshua 10). It did not end there. “As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the sword of the Israelites” (Joshua 10:11 NIV).

The last portion of Hezekiah’s prayer was for God to deliver the people so that all kingdoms on earth would know that the Lord alone is God. Hezekiah was not seeking to glorify himself with a victory for people to know he was a powerful king. In His answer through the Prophet Isaiah, God said “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.” (2 Kings 19:34 NIV).

All of us face different problems and challenges in life. Some are normal and others are extraordinary and may even be life-threatening. How we handle them and in whom we trust make a big difference. Pouring our hearts out to the Almighty God as the first resort would go a long way to solve many of our problems and challenges if done in faith and with the right motives. In any case, we should not underestimate the power of prayer or the power of the Almighty God. Prayers that accomplish God’s purposes and bring glory to the Almighty are answered positively. Prayers intended to satisfy selfish motives may not. To God be the glory!

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.

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