The Power of Prayer to Move the Heart of God
“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life'” Isaiah 38: 1-5.
Isaiah 38 contains a short record of King Hezekiah of Judah. He became very sick, and the prophet Isaiah told him to prepare for death. Distraught, Hezekiah sought the Lord in prayer. God showed Hezekiah grace and powerfully answered that prayer.
To read the entire chapter for context, click here.
This has got to be one of the most amazing passages in all of the Bible. In verse one, God sounds like He’s made a decision. And he told His prophet of this decision so he could inform Hezekiah.
The Power of Prayer on the Lips of the Righteous
God is no fool. He doesn’t come to a decision lightly or flippantly. And he had not only solemnly made the decision but went into phase two, which was to inform those involved.
But in verse five, we see an amazing thing- God changes His mind, He repents! In response to Hezekiah’s prayer.
James 5: 16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”. This shows how soft-hearted God is toward His children. He makes a decision, takes steps to set it in motion, but His children can change His mind with a word!
When we do what He asks, He does what we ask. This is such an illustration of the tender, gentle, merciful heart of God toward His children.
And from what we can gather from Hezekiah’s prayer, it doesn’t even sound like his motive was anything more noble than not wanting to die young and miss out on the rest of his life.
It doesn’t sound like he was too concerned about God’s glory, but He answered his prayer anyway.
Perhaps because Hezekiah honored God by professing his trust in Him publicly- even before his enemies.
You Do Not Have Because You Do Not Ask
It also reminds us that as James 4: 2 says: “You do not have, because you do not ask”. \
The fact that God is attentive to and hears the prayers of His children should be a powerful motivation for us to not only pray but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God Micah 6: 8.
Who can deliver from death but God?
“For whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” 1 Peter 3: 10-12.
To read another post related to The Power of Prayer to Move the Heart of God, see Birth Pains and Judgment: The Link.