Declaring God’s greatness
While Hezekiah didn’t deny the seriousness of his situation, he didn’t pretend that his problems were bigger than his God either! Look at his words in 2 Kings 19:15: “LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth”.
"Prioritizing God's Greatness in Prayer"
I’ve actually done these devotions a little back to front this week, because Hezekiah actually opened his prayer with these words about God’s greatness, and then spoke about the difficulties he was facing. That’s a good way to pray. Come to God and proclaim his greatness and strength first. And then in light of his greatness, acknowledge the seriousness of the situation.
I think this order is important. If we come to God and just moan and complain, it is pointless. But if we bring our moans and complaints to God in faith, declaring that we believe Him to be greater than the troubles we face, this puts us in a good frame of mind.
Think about your recent prayers. Have they been focused on your troubles and worries, without declaring God’s greatness? I like how Hezekiah mentioned that God is “enthroned between the cherubim” – this was a picture of God’s great position in the temple, as the all-powerful enthroned King. This would have given him confidence, remembering God this way. And then he says “You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” So he’s reminding himself here that even a powerful nation like Assyria is no match for God. God is great. God is stronger.
"Self-Reflection in Prayer: Do Our Words Echo Hezekiah's Faith?"
Let me ask us today: are our prayers filled with such words? If someone had to be a fly on the wall of our prayer spaces, would they hear words similar to these words that Hezekiah spoke?
There is great power in this, friends. There is power in declaring in faith that God is greater than your enemies. I want to encourage us to today to go to God in prayer, and spread out our problems before him, and spend much time in praise and worship with words such as these.
In fact Jesus even taught us to pray this way, to pray “our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”. This is exactly what Hezekiah did! He exalted God’s name in faith. May it be that you and I do the same in our prayers – lifting God up in praise all the time, and believing that He is greater than what we are facing
