(Significant inspiration, and insight for this message provided by Francis Frangipane’s booklet, "Prevailing Prayer.")
We are nearing the end of our 40 Days of Prayer, and our series taking a look at some powers that can turn our prayer life into one of prevailing prayer. Last week, we took a look at the life of Gideon and saw how our prayer building blocks, converged piece by piece in his life. Today, we are going to take a step further through the exploration of another man’s ministry.
Turn with me to the book of II Chronicles. About 1/3 of the way back in your Bible. II Chronicles, chapter 29. Again, let me encourage everyone to grab a Bible, and follow along as we explore the activity in this chapter. II Chronicles 29
(READ THROUGH VERSE 2).
Hezekiah, becoming king at just 25 years old, is identified as a king who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. In fact, he was the only king of Judah for whom this comparison to the faithfulness of David can be made. And we will soon see why.
Verse 3 (READ THROUGH VERSE 9).
So you have this 25 year old king stepping into leadership, and contrary to church growth consultants and classroom teaching, he doesn’t take a few years to begin making changes. In fact, we are told that in the first year of his reign, in the first month, before most people even have the U-Haul unloaded into the palace, he gets to work on the restoration of the temple.
This fact that Hezekiah begins his work on the restoration of the temple in his first month gives us insight into his heart. It provides immediate testimony to his zeal for God’s work. He immediately embarks the nation on a journey towards spiritual renewal, and he wastes no time in dealing with the sins of the previous period of time in their history.
And look at what is described in this passage. Verse 5 says they were carrying out rubbish. It is impossible to know all that is involved here, but clearly the temple is not in good condition. The house of the Lord. The place of worship for an entire people group.
So look at our elements that are already in place. First, we have a state of desperation. Ahaz has been ruling Judah as king, and it has been a rule of idolatry, Baal worship, defeat, captivity, and even according to verse 9, death. When Hezekiah takes over, the people of Judah, and especially the inhabitants of Jerusalem are facing a desperate situation once again.
However, they are prepared to join in community. The priest and Levites are already joining together with Hezekiah, and as we will soon see, others will join them.
Does anyone remember our third week in the series? We have the power of desperation, the power of community. . .what came next? “Confession.” Let’s see if we can find any of that in this story. Verse 10 (READ THROUGH VERSE 11).
Verse 15 (READ THROUGH VERSE 19).
Hezekiah guides them into a process of consecration. Of cleansing. The Hebrew term here means “to make free from blemish.” Almost half the occurrences of this word are in Leviticus, and in that context ritual cleansing is frequently related to the sanctification of the people as opposed to just the moral filthiness of the Israelite nation. Not just the cleansing of objects, but of people who intend to be involved in the worship of the Lord and need cleansing because the Lord is a holy God. So confession and repentance was a part of this internal cleansing that had to take place.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel would prophesy of a future cleansing of the people from their sins so that they could truly be God’s people, both outside and inside. And this idea of cleansing carries into the New Testament where you have this picture of the Lamb’s bride, the church, in clean linen symbolizing the righteous acts and lifestyles of the believers.
So we have desperation, community, repentance. And you should have noticed by now that we also have the power of a calling. Is there any doubt that Hezekiah is called by God, and prepared to act in the authority of one called by God?
Verse 10 is a leadership modeling verse. (RE-READ)
What God has put in Hezekiah’s heart, he is prepared to act upon. He is prepared to place not only himself, but even the people in a covenant relationship with God, based on the authority of God that has been granted to him.
Our next verse will remind us of one we looked at last week with Gideon. Verse 20 (READ THROUGH VERSE 31).
Like Gideon, early in the morning Hezekiah begins to rally the people. And he rallies them for the purpose of uniting them in covenant with God. The next power towards prevailing prayer. . .covenant. Notice the preparations that Hezekiah guides the people into for entering this covenant with God. Important steps in preparation for a covenant.
1. THEY BEGAN WITH REPENTANCE
They began with repentance. A cleansing. Which includes the presenting of sin offerings for the atonement of the sins which have taken place. Bulls, rams, and lambs which the law required as atonement for sin in general, but also goats which were used as a part of the cleansing from specific sins. In fact, in this case the priests offer seven of each kind. That number that is often referred to as the perfect number. And the seven of each kind might signify the wholeness and entirety of their repentance. An attempt to offer a perfect sacrifice to cleanse the people from their sins.
Then the musicians are stationed, and an environment is established for praise and worship. A second step in preparation for a covenant.
2. ESTABLISH AN ENVIRONMENT FOR PRAISE AND WORSHIP
After years of idolatry, it is time to bring people into a place of singing praises, bowing in worship, raising the instruments of praise, and as an entire assembly adoring the one true God. Community praise and worship is vital preparation for covenant with God.
And then the people are called to present an offering. A sacrifice.
3. PRESENT OFFERINGS OF SACRIFICE
And this is such an important piece of covenant. Here we find maybe the key words of this entire chapter. All who were of a “willing heart” brought burnt offerings. People gave these gifts to God not out of compulsion but as a joyful response to the grace and forgiveness of God.
Hear this this morning. God does not force covenant upon His people. But for those who have a “willing heart” there is the opportunity to experience the power and dynamics that come from entering into a covenant relationship with God.
Verse 32 (READ THROUGH VERSE 36).
What a testimony to Hezekiah’s zeal in bringing about reformation as soon as it was within his power. But don’t miss the words of verse 36. God had prepared the people. Hezekiah was obedient to the calling of God, but it was a people that were prepared by the stirring of God to enter into covenant with God.
It was the people who entered the temple with a spirit of praise and worship. It was the people that willing brought burnt offerings to restore their relationship with God. Hezekiah’s obedience would have yielded little fruit were it not for the fact that the people had allowed God to prepare them for this great moment, and it was God’s preparation that led to this rapid return to the house of the Lord.
So let’s focus in on the power of covenant in our prayer life. Let’s bring this Scripture to application in 2006. First, what is a covenant?
According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, a covenant is: “a binding agreement between two or more parties expressly for the performance of some action.”
Another definition I located this week was that a covenant is “a formal, solemn and binding agreement between two individuals or parties. It is usually a written agreement. It is a promise between the two parties of a performance of some type of action.”
Those are the definitions of covenant as given by the world. But it is important upon hearing those definitions that we don’t confuse the world’s definition with Biblical covenant. Because that could lead us to modern term that might come to mind.
As you listen to those definitions, you might think of another word in our society, that being the word “contract.” However, there is a significant difference between a Biblical Covenant, and a legal contract. At least two of these differences are that –
a. A Biblical Covenant has no termination date whereas most contracts do.
Biblical covenants don’t have to be renewed. When you lose track of time, and the years pass by faster than you can imagine, you don’t have to worry about a covenant with God just terminating on you without notice. They are eternal covenants. A second difference is that. . .
b. A Biblical Covenant applies to the whole being of a person not just a part of a person’s being.
Follow this, when you enter into a contract in today’s day and age, if it isn’t in the contract, it ain’t anyone’s business. So if Chris Henry has a contract to play wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, but it doesn’t stipulate that he is not allowed to be arrested every other month, and consistently be caught with illegal drugs and inebriated. Then the contract has nothing to say to it, and the team has next to no course of action.
If you are in an employment contract with your employer, there are probably all kinds of areas in your life, parts of your existence that they have no say, control or influence over.
Not so with a Biblical covenant. When God makes a covenant with His people, it is for the entirety of that person. We don’t get to compartmentalize our lives with God. He is kind of into the all or nothing. He wants to kill the old man. He wants to circumcise our hearts. He desires to cleanse us through and through, and make us into the image of His Son. So He doesn’t enter into an agreement with us, a covenant that addresses some small area of our lives, but doesn’t care about the rest.
And we do know that God is a covenant making God. As early as Genesis 6 you find God making a covenant with Noah. A covenant that is then extended to every creature on earth through the visual of a rainbow.
In Genesis 17 God makes a covenant with Abraham. And then in Deuteronomy you find a very unique covenant situation. Turn there quickly with me. Deuteronomy, chapter 5 (READ THROUGH VERSE 3).
Moses communicates to the Hebrew nation that a covenant has been made, not just between he and God. . .but between God and the entire Hebrew nation. This covenant is expanded in Deuteronomy 29 which begins, “These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.”
As a bit of a side note. In very simplistic terms, these passage help form a belief held by many people today that Israel is still in a covenant relationship with God, and some will even take that to the extent of a “Don’t Mess with Texas” kind of mentality. They will say, “Don’t mess with Israel. They are God’s chosen, in covenant with God.”
Personally, I don’t hold exactly to that opinion. While God’s covenants do not carry with them a termination date, they are still covenants. Relationships. Partnerships. Something that requires a sacrifice and faithfulness on the part of both parties.
So I don’t have time to fully expound on that topic this morning, but I’m not so sure that a nation who no longer lives and exists in obedience to God, often even failing to recognize the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross, is somehow protected by a covenant where God is required to uphold His end of the bargain regardless of their behavior.
We will look further at this idea of covenant tonight and see some correlations that might shed some more light on the issue of modern day Israel, and covenant relationships with God. But hopefully you can see that worldly definitions of covenant and contract don’t quite cut it when we are talking about Biblical covenant.
So Christians like Francis Frangipane provide a more Biblically based definition when he writes that, “A covenant is an altar upon which the Lord and His covenant partner give themselves fully to each other.”
A Partnership. A full giving of self to each other. Not a one way street, but a commitment to each other. And that can be a powerful trigger in our walk with God.
So in a day and age where we don’t like to over commit ourselves. Where we like to be free to do as we wish, when we wish, how we wish. Why should we join with a Hezekiah like spirit in a desire to unleash the power of covenant in our prayer lives?
Let me quickly share three reasons with you. First. . .
1. COVENANT MOVES US BEYOND WHAT GOD CAN DO FOR US . . .BEYOND THE “GIMMIES”
Fred was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up drinking."
Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Fred looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one!"
We live in a world of “What can Brown do for you?” “Have it your way.” And that is how most of our prayers lives play out. But when we are in covenant, our prayers move beyond simply asking God to do stuff for us, because we are focused on a reciprocating sacrifice for the kingdom. Which moves us to the second reason. . .
2. COVENANT MOVES US BEYOND VERBAL COMMITMENT. . . TO ACTION
If you have ever found yourself stuck. You tell God what you want to do for Him. You say there is a desire in your heart to do something for Him. But you just can’t seem to take that next step and actually do something for Him. It’s time to enter into a covenant with God. Make a sacrifice. Put something on the line. Ask God what He desires to do for you, as you agree to minister for Him.
And most importantly. . .
3. COVENANT MOVES US FURTHER TOWARDS OUR GOAL OF CHRISTLIKENESS
You see, I believe that covenant relationship with God is the highest, and simultaneously deepest relationship we can enjoy with God. It brings great pleasure to God when individuals or even parts of the body of Christ enter into a covenant relationship with Him. It reduces the distance that we so often put between our lives and God, and it draws us close to Him. Locking arms in mutual commitment to the greater things of the Kingdom.
Look at what it says in Psalm 50:5, “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
God desire to be drawn close to those who have said, “I am giving myself fully to you, and You have given yourself fully to me.”
Now, please understand. A personal covenant with God is a serious commitment, worthy of extended prayer and waiting before God. I have covenanted with God to give my life to impact His kingdom in central Kentucky. I intend to give the rest of my days to honoring that commitment, and serving Him through whatever avenues and doors He opens here in Kentucky.
This week that was a funeral, an invocation at a League of Cities Recognition luncheon. Tomorrow it will be mentoring a church in Pikeville. Tuesday serving on a board of directors for a compassionate ministry here in Lexington. Thursday, driving a bus to pick-up single moms looking to be mentored in their walk with Christ.
This covenant, between God and myself, is one way of remembering that my life is not my own. It has been consumed by something much more powerful: the will of God. It means that when I pray about these activities and events, there is great power in my prayer because I know God’s will and desire to move and show Himself in these places.
Not all of us will have the same covenant with God. For some, it will be a covenant to pray for our nation. For some it will be to save their families. For some it is to end abortion. Your cause does not have to be my cause, and your covenant may well look different than mine.
What is of greater issue is that in obedience we seek to determine how God would have us to partner with Him. And in finding that place, agree to step into a plan of action of mutual sacrifice.
So our prayer calendar questions for reflection this week are:
- What covenant and dedication of my life am I willing to make with God?
- Who would God have me join in covenant and service to Him?
- And how will that covenant with God impact my daily life and plans?
I hope you will take some time to pray, and reflect on those questions as you seek God’s face this week. Let’s pray together.
