But some of us do not have to be reminded because there are all kinds of emergencies that come up each day that remind us to pray.
Illus: A mother and her five year old son were headed to McDonald's. On the way they passed a car accident. Whenever the mother saw something terrible like that, she made it a habit to pray for those who might be hurt. She decided this would a be a good time to teach her son to do the same. Instead of praying, she said to her son, "We should pray." From the back seat she heard his earnest request: "Please, God, don't let those cars block the entrance to McDonald's."
Every day there are STRESSFUL situations that remind us to pray.
Illus: Here are some prayers that some have prayed under STRESS:
• One man had his own version of the “Serenity Prayer”. It goes like this: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I cannot accept, And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today because they got on my nerves.”
• Another man under stress prayed: “Help me to be careful of the toes I step on today, as they may be connected to the feet I may have to kiss tomorrow.”
• Another man who was having a very bad day prayed: “Lord, help me because when I'm having a bad day and it seems that people are trying to wind me up, it takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile and only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth!”
Almost every day things happen that remind us we need to pray.
Hezekiah was a man of prayer. Hezekiah was King of Judah for 29 years. More space is given to Hezekiah in Scripture than to almost any other king since the time of Solomon.
Look at 2 Kings 18:1-7, we read, “Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.”
Make no mistake about it; this was a great man of God. He was a godly man and he was known for his goodness. He had that kind of a reputation.
Illus: Talking about being known for his goodness, reminds me of this red neck in Pelion, SC, who KNEW EVERYONE!
HE WAS VERY PROUD HE KNEW EVERYONE AND OFTEN BRAGGED ABOUT IT! One man got tired of hearing him brag and decided to call his bluff. The man challenged him and said, "OK, Bubba, how about Tom Cruise! Do you personally know Tom Cruise?" "Sure, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it." So Bubba and this man flew out to Hollywood and knocked on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise, shouts, "Bubba! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"
Although impressed, still this man was skeptical that he knew everyone. So when they left Tom Cruise’s house, he challenged him again,
He said, “Do you personally know President George W. Bush?” He said, “Yes, I know him very well!” They flew to Washington and went to the White House and saw the President getting off Air Force 1. He spotted Bubba and said, “Bubba, I have not seen you in a couple of years, it is so good to see you! Come on into the White House and let’s catch up on things you have been doing.”
The man was getting impressed but he still did not believe what he had heard about Bubba knowing everyone. So he thought he would do one more thing. He said, “Do you know the Pope?” Bubba said, “Sure, I have known the Pope for many years.” They went to the Vatican to prove he knew the Pope.
Bubba and his friend are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Bubba says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope." and he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican. Sure enough, half an hour later Bubba emerges with the Pope on the balcony.
But by the time Bubba returns, he finds this man who doubted he knew everyone had fainted and is surrounded by paramedics. Working his way to his friend’s side, Bubba asks him, "What happened?" This man looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, ‘Who's that on the balcony with Bubba?’"
Everybody is known for something. And Hezekiah was known for being a godly man who knew how to get his prayers answered. He was a young godly man and everything in his life was working out perfectly. He began to reign in Jerusalem at the age of twenty-five . Everything in his life was great until we come to the message he received from Isaiah.
Look at . . .
I. THE MESSAGE
Look at 2 Kings 20:1, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”
It is always shocking news when a person hears a doctor say that we need to get our house in order because we are soon going to die. But this news did not come from a doctor, it came from the prophet Isaiah who got this news, not from x-rays and physical examinations, but from God Himself.
He was only 39 years of age when he got this devastating news. He knew he would die some day, but not in the prime of his life when things were going so well for him….NOT NOW!
He planned to go, but he did not plan to go like this. But we can never tell when and how we are going to go,
Illus: This reminds me of the dumb commercial on television of a woman talking about breast cancer. She said,
• I would like to die eating too much chocolate candy
• I would like to die laughing
But I do not plan to die with breast cancer!
But that is not up to her to make that decision.
We may die…
• In our sleep
• While eating at Taco Bells
• While driving
…we do not know when and how we are going to die.
We may die a peaceful death or we may die a violent death; we just do not know.
Illus: That reminds me of three men who were standing in line to get into heaven. Apparently it had been a pretty busy day, though, so Peter had to tell the first one, "Heaven's getting pretty close to full today, and I've been asked to admit only people who have had particularly horrible deaths. So what's your story?"
The first man replies: "Well, I came home early today. As I came into my 25th floor apartment, I could tell something was wrong, and then I saw a tool belt that I didn't recognize! I have to admit, I can get insanely jealous, and my first thought was there was someone hiding, but all my searching around didn't reveal anything. Finally, I went out to the balcony, and sure enough, there was this man hanging off the railing, 25 floors above ground! By now I was really mad, so I started beating on him and kicking him, but wouldn't you know it, he wouldn't fall off. So finally I went back into my apartment and got a hammer and starting hammering on his fingers. Of course, he couldn't stand that for long, so he let go and fell -- but even after 25 stories, he fell into the bushes, stunned but okay. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the fridge and threw it over the edge where it landed on him, killing him instantly. But all the stress and anger got to me, and I had a heart attack and died there on the balcony."
"That sounds like a pretty bad day to me," said Peter, and let the man in.
The second man comes up and Peter explains to him about heaven being full, and again asks for his story.
"It's been a very strange day. You see, I live on the 26th floor of my apartment building, and every morning I do my exercises out on my balcony. Well, this morning I must have slipped or something, because I fell over the edge. But I got lucky, and caught the railing of the balcony on the floor below me. I knew I couldn't hang on for very long, when suddenly this man burst out onto the balcony. I thought for sure I was saved, when he started beating on me and kicking me. I held on the best I could until he ran into the apartment and grabbed a hammer and started pounding on my hands. Finally I just let go, but again I got lucky and fell into the bushes below, stunned but all right. Just when I was thinking I was going to be okay, this refrigerator comes falling out of the sky and crushes me instantly, and now I'm here."
Once again, Peter had to concede that that sounded like a pretty horrible death.
The third man came to the front of the line, and again the whole process was repeated. Peter explained that heaven was full and asked for his story.
"Picture this," says the third man, "I'm fixing the plumbing on an emergency call today, when the wife's husband comes home. She tells me he's insanely jealous, so I hid inside the refrigerator..."
We never know when and how we are going to go. Hezekiah knew he was going to die, but he did want to die like this in the prime of his life.
The prophet Isaiah came to him and said, “Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”
There were a number of reasons that he did not want to die at the age of thirty-nine.
• He was in the prime of his life
• He was at the peak of his career
• His son was too young to inherit the throne
HE FELT THAT THIS WAS NO TIME TO BE DYING!
This news could not have come at a worst time. He heard the message from the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die.
Look at THE MESSAGE and . . .
II. THE MOURNING
Look at verses 2-3, we read, “Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”
Notice the words, “He turned his face to the wall and prayed…” This godly king had turned to God during the good times and now he is turning to God during the bad times.
Look at his request to God. Look at verse 3, the reason he stated he did not want to die. He turned his face to the wall and prayed, “I beseech thee, O LORD, REMEMBER now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”
In this prayer he said, “…O Lord, remember…” He wanted God to remember something.
• “Remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart.”
• “And have done that which is good in thy sight.”
Why did he want God to remember these things? Because He wanted God to hear his prayer and he knew that God was not going to hear the prayer of the wicked.
A LOT OF FOLKS DO NOT KNOW THAT! You see, there are people who profess to be saved and they:
• Hang out with the ungodly
• Go places they should not go
• Say things they should not say
• Read things they should not be reading
• Watch things on television they should not be watching
• Gossip about people behind their backs
• Disobey the commandments of God
Then get on their knees and call out to God in prayer and wonder why God never answers their prayers.
Hezekiah knew he would be wasting his time if he had lived such a life. And he wanted God to remember he had lived a godly life.
This great man of God was weeping in such a way that I believe you could have heard him at a far distance. The Bible says, “…Hezekiah wept sore.” He wept before God and God heard His prayer.
Look at THE MESSAGE, THE MOURNING and . . .
III. THE MIRACLE
Look at 2 Kings 20:1, we read, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”
We do not know what kind of sickness he had, but God healed him. All healing comes from the Lord. Doctors can open us up and cut things out of us that are causing problems, but it is God that heals those wounds.
Just because we have all these fake healers on television that are getting rich off people does not mean God no longer heals people. If I did not believe God could heal people I would not waste my time going to the hospital and praying for people.
Hezekiah had some kind of terminal sickness, and Isaiah told him that HE NEEDED TO GET HIS HOUSE IN ORDER BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE AROUND VERY MUCH LONGER.
Isaiah brought the message to him about this terminal disease, and this godly man that loved God began to pray, and before Isaiah got out of Hezekiah’s yard, look at what happened.
Look at verses 4-6, we read, “And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.”
Hezekiah was a godly man and God heard his prayer and answered his prayer.
Look at THE MESSAGE, THE MOURNING, THE MIRACLE and . . .
IV. THE MISTAKE
When we pray, we need to remember GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES, but we DO! When God sent Isaiah to tell him he was going to die, GOD WAS DOING THE VERY BEST THING FOR HEZEKIAH.
But Hezekiah asked God to spare his life. He did not say, “Thy will be done,” just, “I have been a godly man, heal me and do not let me die!”
God answered his prayer, BUT IT WAS A PRAYER THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PRAYED.
It was the will of God for Hezekiah to die at the age of 39. But God told Isaiah to go back and tell him He was going to extend his life by fifteen years because of his prayer. Instead of dying at 39 he died at 54 years of age.
BUT I WANT TO REMIND YOU AGAIN…GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES! And had God’s perfect will been done, he would have died at 39 instead of 54.
Illus: C. S. Lewis recognized that if God had given him everything he’d asked for, his life would have been a mess! The most loving answer God can sometimes give is, “No.” God knows best! He knows exactly what we need and He has our best interests in mind.
WHY WAS IT A MISTAKE FOR THIS PRAYER TO BE PRAYED?
God healed him of this deadly sickness and he lived to bear a SON WHO WOULD BECOME THE MOST EVIL RULER IN JUDAH’S HISTORY -- KING MANASSEH!
King Manasseh came to the throne at only 12 years of age, when his father, the good King Hezekiah, died. Manasseh made it his mission to undo the good reforms instituted by his father, and to do a great deal of evil.
• Hezekiah had destroyed shrines of pagan worship throughout the land; Manasseh rebuilt them, adding also shrines to Baal and Asherah.
• He desecrated the LORD's temple by putting altars for idol worship in it.
• He sacrificed his own sons, burning them to death in worship of the idol Molech.
• Manasseh murdered so many people that the historian wrote that he, “filled Jerusalem from one end to the other” with innocent blood.
The LORD sent prophets to warn of the disaster that would come because the people followed Manasseh in his great sins — Judah would be destroyed by their enemies. But king and people ignored the warnings.
If God’s will had been done when it was time for Hezekiah to die at 39 years of age…ALL THESE MURDERS AND THIS EVIL WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN DONE.
Conclusion:
Manasseh spent a lifetime dedicated to evil. Then when he repented, the LORD forgave him. Will God forgive someone who has committed extreme evil? Yes, the life of Manasseh proves that.
Listen, we have to remember as we pray, that God can do ANYTHING, but there are SOME THINGS we do not want God to do. We want His will to be done because He does not make mistakes.
If the doctors tell us next week to get our house in order, may the Lord help us to say to those we are leaving behind, “I had a good time while I have been here, but I am going somewhere where I will really enjoy life!”
We have looked at:
I. THE MESSAGE
II. THE MOURNING
III. THE MIRACLE
IV. THE MISTAKE
