“Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD.” Isaiah 38:2
Bad reports can be devastating. The doctor’s diagnosis is worse than we feared. We dread the pink slip that is coming any day. We can’t make next month’s rent. What do we do when bad news breaks?
Hezekiah was a godly king of Judah. One day he was told devastating news. “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz went to him and said, ‘This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ‘Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ Hezekiah wept bitterly” (2 Kings 20:1-3).
What would you do if you heard the words: “Put your house in order because you are going to die”? What did Hezekiah do? His first reaction was prayer. Hezekiah could have started a search of the kingdom for the best doctors. He could have shaken his fist at God in anger, or he could have felt sorry for himself. But he didn’t do any of those things. Hezekiah prayed. His first instinct was to take his problem to God. He knew that God is in control and that he holds the power over life and death. Hezekiah pleaded that the Lord would help him get through this trial, knowing the answer was in God’s hands and would be resolved according to God’s will.
There are times in our lives when we too become overwhelmed when bad news breaks. It is then we need to seek God’s strength and help. Hezekiah teaches us that the one we need to go to first is the only one who has the power to help. And he will never refuse our prayer.
Bad news? It’s going to come. Jesus said that living in this world we must expect trouble. When those bad news days arrive, we need to go first to the one who has promised to help, our Abba Father.
(Note: What happened to Hezekiah? God told him: “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; . . . I will add fifteen years to your life”) [verse 5,6].
Remember to first go to God when bad news breaks.
When we worry, we aren’t praying.
When we pray, we aren’t worrying.
Max Lucado