Lay it on the line.

King Hezekiah and the people of Judah had a problem and everyone knew it. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, camped with his army with hundreds of thousand of soldiers just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Sennacherib and the Assyrians were an unstoppable force; they had destroyed many other nations. Now they were poised to do the same to the nation of Judah.

Sennacherib boasted of his victories and stated his intention to overthrow Hezekiah in the hearing of all the people at the wall; he bragged that none of the other gods of any of the nations that had opposed the kings of Assyria were able to stop them from being victorious. What then could the God of Israel do to help Hezekiah and his people? Sennacherib sent a letter to Hezekiah with the same boastful threat.

Sennacherib was confident of his military strength to bring the people of Jerusalem to their knees leaving their city as well as their God nothing more than a pile of rubble. Fear gripped the hearts of all those living in Jerusalem. Would their God do anything to help them in the face of certain defeat?

• [14] Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. [15] And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord.
  Isaiah 37:14-15 (NIV)

Hezekiah did not prepare for battle. He did not plan his escape from the city; nor did Hezekiah sit and worry or become paralyzed by fear. Hezekiah prayed. But more than just a prayer; Hezekiah laid it all out before the Lord.

Sometimes I think our prayers make a quick request for help but we never even let God have a chance to answer our prayer because we immediately try to solve our problem by ourselves. Maybe I’m the only one with that problem? With an arrogant pride we never stop and just get real with God. When was the last time any of us prayed something like this?

“Lord here is my problem and it is bigger than I am; I don’t know which way to turn. God without your help I’m as good as beaten before the fight even starts.”

I notice something else though about Hezekiah’s prayer. It’s not just a helpless cry for help. Hezekiah’s request is not just for God to come to his rescue, but that God will prove Himself as the Living God, the Almighty. Hezekiah’s request wasn’t so much about his need as God being glorified. God would get all the credit for the victory not Hezekiah.

I think those are the kind of prayers God likes to answer; it’s an honest prayer with a pure motive. For me I think it is time to get real with God and stop pretending that I can make it on my own; I think it is time to lay it all on the line and let God be the one who not only handles it but gets the credit too. How about you?