When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: “Remember, O Lord, how I have always tried to be faithful to you and do what is pleasing in your sight.”
Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people.
“Tell him, this is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor, David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
“I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord’” (2 Kings 20:2-5 ).
God hears simple prayers
Have you ever been so upset about something that you could not even find words to say? Hezekiah was.
News of his impending death was more than he could handle. When he tried to talk to God about it, his emotions got the best of him.
He was too choked up for the words to flow. So, his tears gushed out instead. But look what happened: God heard, God saw, God responded.
Isn’t it great to know prayers don’t have to be pretty or polished to get God’s attention? Oftentimes we feel we must be articulate for our prayers to be powerful.
But prayer is not an English assignment. Besides, God does not grade us on our vocabulary and grammar.
God hears us even when our words are inaudible. Why? Because He sees beyond our words and into our very hearts. He knows our pain before our first tears fall.
What is even more incredible is that His love compels Him to respond.
Find comfort today in knowing that even when your tears drown out your words, God still hears, sees and responds.
Prayer
“God, sometimes I just cannot get my words to say what my heart feels. Thank you for reminding me that you hear me even when I cannot speak.
Thank you for seeing beyond my words and for understanding how I feel even better than I do.
Most of all, God, thank you for caring enough to respond when you know I am hurting.” A simple prayer like this can be answered by God.
Ole Hallesby (1879–1961)describes prayer as “A condition of mind, an attitude of heart which God recognizes as prayer whether it manifests itself in quiet thinking, sighing or in audible words.”
Bible Readings: 2 Kings 20:1–22:2, Acts 21:18-36, Psalms 150:1-6 and Proverbs 18:9-10.
(Source/Tecarta)
Life lessons
1-Prayer is a communication between God and man. This communication is not about correct words, but correct information.
2-There are religions with written prayers, but that is unfortunate because God does not condon such a practice. Prayer should not be written.
It is an emotion experience. Therefore, saying a prayer and reading a written piece are never permanently relevant to every situation.
3-God does not answer our prayers based on how sweet the words are. In other words, prayer is not sweet-talking God, but rather talking to Him.
It is telling God how you feel, what you know and the way you know it and feel it, not following a particular manual that has nothing to do with your experience.
3- To pray is to express how you feel and what you are going through. Such feelings cannot be recorded to be recited all day.
Jesus encourages us to cry out to God day and night (Luke 18:7), to pray with humility (Luke 18:9–14) and to ask for things that glorify God so that we can experience His joy (John 16:24).
The psalmist said: “Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge” (Psalms 62:8).
4- Scripture contains many written prayers which some people have found helpful in guiding them on how to pray.
However, these prayers were not recorded to be recited.
Jesus taught His disciples a model prayer that is recorded in Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4. The Lord ’s Prayer was intended as a pattern for our prayers rather than something to regularly recite to God.
By Pr Isaiah White
whitemwine@gmail.com
