Isaiah 37:1-2 - When King Hezekiah heard
their report, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the Temple
of the LORD to pray. And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the
court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in sackcloth, to the
prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
Hezekiah knew how to handle a
problem. When he heard a report from his
high officials that sounded really bad…he immediately went into fasting and
prayer mode. Then he sent for the best preacher he knew to seek advice…Isaiah.
Prayer was taken very
seriously back then. You tore your
robe…no matter what brand name or how much it cost. You put on sackcloth…a scratchy material that
also encased food for animals…and you fell to your knees. If it was really serious…you went to the
temple…to be sure you were close enough to God for him to hear you cry out.
There was none of that silent prayer stuff….or whispering a short request for
help driving down the road. If you were
serious…then everyone around you knew you were serious.
It had more than one purpose. Rendering
yourself in that scratchy garb showed your humility. It showed God you knew who was in charge…and
you were not above letting anyone who saw you know that too. It also focused
your heart and mind on the need you were praying for. Everything around you was less important than
the need you brought to God’s attention.
I admit…I am one of those that
has never tried to be this serious about a need. I have never humbled myself so
much that I tore my clothes...or dressed in a more simple way to show I was
praying really hard for something. Perhaps some attempts were made when I wore
a black ribbon to show I was praying for the family and friends of someone who
died. And that pink ribbon I wore for a
while to remember to pray for someone with cancer a while back. I have fasted
something for the last 4 years…to ask God to save a couple of students I know
are lost. But all of those seem now to
be very weak attempts at what Isaiah describes in Hezekiah.
Bottom line for me…I do not
spend enough time in prayer period…let alone on my knees in
fervent…focused….God I need this in the worst way prayer. So I guess the lesson
is to think of ways I can go to the next level.
Just this last Sunday…with tearful eyes…I admitted to some of my dearest
friends I had not taken their prayer requests serious enough. So I started a
new prayer journal…and will start anew...and try to get more serious about my
prayer time. Baby steps that God can broaden and make more mature the more I
stay focused on him.
Father…thank you for the
reminder that I really need to get this prayer stuff where you have always
wanted it. Thanks for not giving up on
me…and chasing after me with one more reminder to keep working on getting it
right. Forgive me….and help me to really
take this prayer stuff seriously. Show
me how to lose the inhibitions that keep me off my knees unless I am at your
altar in a church. Show me how to take
that altar with me everywhere I go. Amen.
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