The Plight of Answered Prayers

“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death…Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD…And Hezekiah wept bitterly… ‘This is what the LORD…says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.’ A writing…after his illness and recovery: ‘…In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years…You restored me to health and let me live...and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the LORD.” Isaiah 38:1-16.

The 38th chapter of Isaiah is the wonderful testimony of King Hezekiah. He has been given a death sentence only to be given the message that God has changed His mind, ordaining another 15 years of life for Hezekiah. Upon Hezekiah’s recovery he pens this beautiful testimony beginning with lament and sorrow but ending with praise and worship. He promises to testify to the glory of God every day until he dies. For Hezekiah, ‘every day of his life’ only lasted one. ‘At that time…son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift…Hezekiah received gladly and showed …everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.’ Isaiah 40:1-2. He opened himself up for friendly captivity. He became vulnerable to the enemy through his prideful display of every prized possession he owned. Instead of boasting in testimony about the LORD’s deliverance from death, he boasted about his worldly possessions for which he stored up…and was the enemy taking notes.

We can relate on some level as we have all experienced answered prayers at some point in our lives. We have a decision to make or we have been devastated with some news. We turn our minds and hearts ‘to the wall’ and begin negotiating with God, begging and pleading for the answer. We receive our answer to prayer and sing the praises of God for the moment. Then the crisis is over and life returns to the normal. We open our hearts to the world’s seepage allowing the temple of our hearts to collect its filth. We reflect our own lives instead of the reflection of God. We boast of our strength and power to others instead of testifying to the splendor of our God. We lay open our storehouses of integrity allowing the enemy to ravage through what used to be the treasures of our heart - the character of Christ.

We cannot allow the wondrous acts of our Savior to grow cold. They must be forever on our lips and remain alive in our hearts. Our testimonies are essential in our armor of God in our battle against evil. As long as we have God on our lips we cannot talk about ourselves.