Todays Devotion... And Hezekiah prayed. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the LORD (Is. 37:15,20). (Isaiah 38-42) In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech Thee, 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. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years (Is. 38:1-5). The account of Hezekiahs brush with death is given in more than one book in the Word of God. There are many lessons that can be taken from It. Most often it is used in sermons and devotions to illustrate the importance of prayer. In his distress, Hezekiah neither doubted Gods prophet, nor did look for earthly solutions; he immediately and earnestly turned to God. Hezekiahs story should serve as a permanent reminder of the vital role of prayer in the life of all believers. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:36). Death is a subject that is oftentimes overlooked when studying this passage, yet it is an inevitable point in life that unites us all. Hezekiah was king. He was one of the richest, most powerful men in the world at that time, but death was still at his door. There is no escaping death regardless of who you are. As a result of Gods merciful answer to his prayer, Hezekiah was granted 15 additional years to finish his earthly work in Judah. However, he was not exempted from eventually dying. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Hezekiah was given an opportunity that very few get in this world; he was warned of his approaching death and given the opportunity to sort out all of his affairs. Most of us live carrying unfinished business from one day to the next, business that includes things pertaining to this world as well as things pertaining to the world to come. Given that death will come unexpectedly to the vast majority of us, we will most likely die leaving loose ends in our wake. The Lord, however, offers us a solution to this problem. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Cor. 16:13). He counsels that we should live each day as if we know it is our last. We should never hesitate to offer love or forgiveness to those to whom it needs to be shown. We also must consider the state of our own soul and the souls of others to be of highest priority. We must never think that we can turn to God tomorrow because tomorrow may be too late. We need to surrender our lives to God to ensure that redemption is ours, and then set out to share His message with as many as possible. Of course, there are many other things that may need to be done to Set thine (our) house in order in an earthly sense, but these are the most important. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (I Cor. 15:26). Excerpts from SBC / BiblePathway / Delaney Baptist Church
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 20:57:35 +0000