Forty Days of Prayer: Day Sixteen

"Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, "Remember , O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly."

(2 Kings 20:3)

Have you noticed over the past week how we have taken a look at these regular folks written about in the Bible that are people of enormous faith and prayer?? As Kit says today, these men and women had courage to get "outside the box" and cry out to ask God to do something very unusual. I find these scriptural short stories to be so very encouraging. These people are praying IMPOSSIBLE prayers and they are being heard and answered by the same God we worship today.

Hezekiah was a faithful king. Because of his faith and prayer, God healed him and saved his city from the Assyrians. However the last part of this focus verse tell us a little bit about where his emotions were when he cried out to the Lord: "And Hezekiah wept bitterly." Have you ever come before the Lord with something so big you see no way out of it? Have you been hurting so much that you are just angry with God and the situation? Can you imagine what Hezekiah felt like when he had just gotten the news he was going to die?? Ladies, I challenge all of us to bring it all to God today. He can take our ugliest of ugly. Kit asks us today to take a look at our impossible prayer list through Hezekiah's eyes. I bet he treasured those last fifteen years. With his weeping heart, Hezekiah still had the courage to ask the absolute impossible. Do we believe He can do miraculous things for us? Are we willing to ask our "impossible" with Hezekiah type faith? Faith and prayer. If they are sincere and directed toward the One true God, any situation can change.

Kit's last sentence today says I bet he (Hezekiah) is pulling for you to follow his lead (even though he wasn't perfect- or especially because he wasn't). That is so important for us perfectionists to hear! It doesn't take perfect anything to be heard by God. Scripture says we only need the faith of a mustard seed. Today let's do as Kit suggests and look at our list with the faith of one who thinks "outside the box". Throw away the ideas in your head that say you cannot possibly ask this or you just don't deserve that. Let's come to the cross like little children with mustard seed faith and cry out to our Savior for what we want. He longs for us to communicate with Him. To quote Chris Baxter: Pray faithfully, Trust completely, and Obey fully. I think Hezekiah would agree.

For further reading: Luke 18:20; Matthew 7:7; Jeremiah 32: 17 and 27.

Sovereign God,

You say," What is impossible for people is possible for God" (Luke 18:27). So here we are asking for just that: the impossible . We ask that You guide each one of us to pray faithfully, trust completely, and obey to the best of our ability. We ask You hear our prayers that seem so hopeless and infuse hope. Help us to see who you are clearer. Give us peace where there is disruption, give us courage to ask where there is fear, and give us confidence not in the world but in You. Let us think and pray "outside the box" today claiming You are the Almighty that moves mountains and parts waters. We claim that even if we don't see movement, You are indeed busy working on behalf of Your children. Amen