Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: . . . ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,’ says the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it for my own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ” Isaiah 37: 21, 22, 35a, NKJV. (Emphasis provided).
Gracious God, Your children rush to the mercy seat with our pain and with our questions; with our challenges and our battles; with our frustrations and our tears; and we spread them out before You. Only a Word from You will do. So, please speak to us dear LORD. This is our plea, as we meet for the study of Your Word. In the name of Your Son, and our Savior, we bring these concerns; and we know that we will find rest unto our souls. Amen.
I hear some of you saying, “But I have been asking God for ‘so and so’ for the past (you name it) years; and I still do not have what I asked Him for!” Well, that is another study. Today’s devotional is especially dedicated to those who believe that God knows what I need, so I am just going to sit here and wait until He does what He knows He is supposed to do! Or, for those who, instead of, and before, going to God with their problem, they go to another human being. Let me hasten to explain: There is nothing wrong in sharing a problem with a friend, or someone of confidence, who is in a position to help us. God will sometimes use these persons to help us. I would venture to say that the problem lies in who we believe can, and will, ultimately, provide the answer to our prayers. I will explain further by sharing with you a personal experience.
Many years ago, in my native Republic of Panama, I had a need, and after considering several options, I went to an acquaintance of mine, and told her my problem. Because I thought I knew this person well enough, I was sure that she would come to my rescue, so I went to her without asking God if it was okay! The person listened to me with such interest, I had no doubt that I had done the right thing. When I was through, her response was, “I am sorry, I cannot help you.” The coldness and indifference with which she said it, left me stunned, and numb! I never stopped regretting that decision I made to depend upon a mortal like myself to solve my problem. I did not see her as merely an instrument in God’s hand, I saw her as the solution. I was so wrong!
Good for Hezekiah! He went directly “to the hills from where [his help would] come” (Psalm 121: 1, 2)! He knew that the only person who could help him was God! No army of mortals, no matter how efficient in warfare tactics, could get him through this battle, alive! This problem had to be handled by God! Our Scripture for today reveals a very important principle: “Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, [here is what I will do] . . .” God is pleased when His people call upon Him in the day of their trouble. He invites us, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45: 22, emphasis provided)! He received, because he asked! He was saved, because he looked to God! When we pray, let us remember these two important lessons:
1) God expects us to ask. Let us not confuse an expectation with a need. God does not need us to ask Him to do something for us, in order for Him to do it. He sends His sunshine and rain on the “good” and the bad. But He does expect us to come to Him with our needs. After all, He is our Parent! He delights to be in constant communication with us. He also delights in helping us. Perhaps some of us would never go to Him unless we had a need!
2) He expects us to ask Him. I cannot imagine how I would feel if our children went to someone else with their needs, instead of coming to me or their dad – at least as their first choice. Besides my love for them, my hurt feelings, would be caused by my pride. With God, it is His pure, undefiled, unselfish, love, that moves Him to invite us to go to Him to seek the solution to our problems. He knows that it is the only safe thing to do!