Sunday's Comin' #307 - 2 Kings 20: 1-7

Rebekah Wilson, Alpha Team

Transcript

Rebekah Wilson  0:07 
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the word of God. Today is Tuesday, February 14m and this is Rebekah Wilson. I serve on our Alpha Team. This week's Alpha question is, "Does God Heal Today?" In preparation, I'll be reading 2 Kings 20, verses 1 through 7 from the New Living Translation.

Rebekah Wilson   0:27 
About that time, Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’” Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!

Rebekah Wilson  1:47 
The Prophet delivered the message from the Lord. And then he just left the king to sit in this dreadful news. But Hezekiah he didn't ask Isaiah to intercede for him, or beg him to advocate on his behalf. He turned to the Lord directly and poured out his heart in prayer. Hezekiah was a man known for prayer. He led the people of Judah in revival, he reopened the temple and commissioned the priests to restore worship and sacrifices. He reinstituted the celebration of Passover, and he was a man who was known for his love of the Lord. If Hezekiah had just accepted the word from Isaiah and not prayed, would he have been healed? I don't think we know that. But, it seems from the text that God acted to heal Hezekiah after he prayed for healing. How many times do we just accept what comes at us and fail to ask God for healing? As we'll hear in the Alpha video, "when no one prays for healing, there's no one healed." But when everyone prays for healing, some are healed. What might be stopping you from praying for healing? Why are we afraid to pray for healing?

Unknown Speaker  3:03  
Let's go to the Lord, like Hezekiah. Father God, we praise you because your word tells us that you forgive all our sins, and you heal all our diseases. Forgive us when we don't trust in your healing power, and when we fail to ask for your help and healing. Thank you that like Hezekiah, you hear all our prayers and you see all of our tears. We trust you and we love you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.