2Kings 20:1-‘ “vs. 1 “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ” 2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly”
Hezekiah was sick and near death then there came a prophet who brought him bad news. His message from the Lord to Hezekiah was to set his house in order meaning write his will and let it be known to his family for he wasn’t going to live. What would your reaction be if you were to receive a similar message? The prediction sounded final, it came from the Lord, however Hezekiah knew his God was willing to hear his appeal. Instead of being angry with the Lord and His prophet, he chose to go to God directly and not through the prophet as he had received a message. The only reason he could go to the Lord directly was because of his walk with the Lord, Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.
Vs. 2,”Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly”. Reading this may suggest he went to Lord to plead for his healing, contrary. When he began to pray, you come to realize he did not ask for healing, all he did was say “remember now, my walk before you in truth, my loyal heart, done good things in Your sight”. Hezekiah was in his prime when he received this message. His number one prayer was of remembrance of his walk with the Lord. How his walk brought glory to God when some of the gone kings had done evil before God. His greater faith in God to do great things was not so much based on his faith on what God could do but rather on what God had done. As my friend Pastor Darren Adwalpalker preached sometime back, he said there are people who walk forward to the future by faith trusting in the Lord and there are people who walk into the future backwards meaning looking back (remembering), which builds their faith as they trust God.
There are three things out of this story in sequence that touched my heart. 1. Hezekiah desired healing that he would continue to walk and glorify God on earth. 2. He desired healing not so much for his sake but for the sake of his country, especially his son Manasseh who was about 12 years old. If Hezekiah died, then his young son would have no father to train him in the things of God and groom him to be the next king at young age. Another thing, his rival Senacherib would boast, robbing God the glory He would continue to enjoy. 3. He desired healing that he would live in his prime years and enjoy God’s blessings. This is God first, other’s second, you third, hence we could acronym the word JOY(J-esus first, O-thers second, Y-ou last). Hezekiah’s cry to the Lord followed the same sequence.
The question that I should be asking myself when I am sick or in need of anything else should not be primarily about receiving what I desire. If I am coming to God for healing for example, my question should be, 1. Is my primary reason for God’s glory in my sickness and healing? Our greatest aim is let God make His name great in what He does, 2. How best will the healing advance His kingdom in the life of my loved ones, my friends and people around who may under estimate the power of God to heal? 3. How will the healing affect me personally as a Christian? Will it help me grow more in Christ? etc. This is how to approach everything we pray to God about. Hezekiah prayed and God heard his prayer and added him another 15 years of life. You never know what God can do with this kind of approach as we fulfill the commandment, Mathew 22:37-39, “37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. GOD FIRST, OTHERS SECOND, YOU THIRD. Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 