Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD.
Isaiah 38:2
How did Hezekiah respond to this unexpected crisis? How will you respond in a crisis?
The first thing Hezekiah did was to seek the face of God in prayer. When Isaiah comes with grim news, Hezekiah turns to the wall and prays. There were any number of questions that the king could have asked. “How long do I have to live? Why is this happening? Where is God in all this?” But Hezekiah does not go there.
The natural question is always to ask, “Why? What is God doing?” But wise Christians will remember Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
The secret things belong to the Lord! Hezekiah knows he can’t find what God has kept secret. But he takes hold of what God has revealed, which is that in any circumstance we can pray.
Sometimes it is helpful to close our eyes when we pray, because it keeps us from being distracted. That’s the point here. Hezekiah turns away from Isaiah to seek the Lord in prayer.
When we face crisis, may it be our first response to follow Hezekiah’s example and get serious about prayer. Prayer can change the course of history. Do you believe that?
God is sovereign in all things, and His sovereignty includes the prayers of His people. We do not claim to know what He is doing. But the first instinct of a godly heart in any crisis is to turn towards God and pray.
Do you believe that prayer can change the course of history? Do you believe it can change the course of your life?
