Thursday, May 23, 2013

HEZEKIAH PRAYED

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 19

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

This photo was taken near the top-end of Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Siloam Tunnel. It is a tunnel that was dug underneath the City of David in Jerusalem in ancient times. It dates from the reign of Hezekiah of Judah (late 8th and early 7th century BC) and corresponds to the waterworks mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20. The tunnel, leading from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, was designed as an aqueduct to provide Jerusalem with water during an impending siege by the Assyrians, led by Sennacherib.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Kings 19:19

Now Therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.

Our reading begins with the statement, “Hezekiah …. went into the house of the Lord.” The tearing of Hezekiah’s clothes and the sackcloth were evidences of extreme fervency. When we fast, the same fervency is indicated. Jesus practised fasting and encouraged us to do the same. This is evidence of our determined focus on God, it is not a way of earning God’s favour. Everything we receive from God is pure grace (undeserved favour). We learn from Hezekiah the power of prayer! Four times we are presented with the words “prayer, prayed, pray, prayed.” We get it, Lord!
Isaiah, the man of God, is introduced here for the first time. Let us check on Isaiah’s preaching. He began his ministry when Uzziah was king and continued throughout the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. As a youth, Hezikiah would have sat under the teaching and preaching of Isaiah, no doubt comparing the message and the life of Isaiah against the wickedness of his father Ahaz. Read Isaiah 1:16-20 and Isaiah 2:1-11. Then consider Isaiah’s experience of God recorded in Isaiah 6:1-8. We can be sure that as a youth, before he became king, Hezekiah had prayed the words of Isaiah to the Lord, “Here am I! Send me.” The results of this prayer are very evident in history.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I’ve heard Your call. You have said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” I respond with those powerful words, “Here am I! Send me.” I pray this in Jesus’ Name! Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I was about to turn 17 when I attended Lakeshore Pentecostal Youth Camp for a week. It was there at the altar in the tabernacle that I prayed approximately this prayer with all my heart, “Lord Jesus, I want to serve You fully in Your great cause. Please Lord, do me the great favour of calling me with a definite call so that I will know You have called me, and so that I will never turn back from serving You.” He gave me an unmistakable call almost immediately when the Youth Evangelist came to where I was kneeling in the middle of hundreds of other teens and said, with authority in his voice, “You are called into the Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ!” I’ve never doubted that call for even one minute for the past 60 years.

In reference to today’s reading, my English teacher in high school had us memorize the poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib,” by Lord Byron. I remember it to this day… “The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold….” Lord Byron was a student of Holy Scripture (click here for the entire poem).

Yours for God’s call on our lives,

David

P.S. It’s now 5:42 a.m. In 12 days we’ll be half-way through the entire Bible. If you have just started reading with me, in 104 weeks you’ll finish the entire Bible, moving from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Greek, the Old Testament to the New, alternating between the two. Please tell others about this blog and encourage them from time to time to stick with it throughout the entirety of the Bible.

Up until 2004 this exit from Hezekiah's Tunnel was thought to be at the Pool of Siloam. However, you will see in tomorrow's 100words blog photo that the recent discovery, just 100 metres to the south, was in fact the Pool of Siloam. That is where Jesus, in John 9:7, after spitting in the dirt and putting it on a blind man's eyes, told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man was healed.

28 thoughts on “Thursday, May 23, 2013

  1. Lamentations 3:22,23 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”

    • Hard to believe we are almost half way through … it’s been quite an education, adventure, inspirational and life enriching! Your guidance has been most helpful, David! It’s great that anyone can begin between now and six months, and complete the blog series in two years. Many thanks and prayers for you and the team!

  2. Heavenly Father, each of us has gone on our own path and have forsaken You. We’ve stumbled and fallen many times, yet You have always been there to pick us up, clean us up and set us back on the right path. We feel so unworthy of Your love and grace, yet none of this is about how we ‘feel’; it’s entirely about Your Son, Jesus Christ who sacrificially gave of Himself and endured the pain of the cross even unto death. He became ‘the’ sin-bearer for all of eternity. He’s the one who took upon our sin (past, present and future) to set us free. We thank You for this act of love through grace which saved us from sin. We no longer have to strive or work for or to attain our salvation for Your Son Jesus has paid that price and we are now set entirely free as a result. Lord, we adore You, we serve only You, and we give of ourselves entirely to You. We give thanks to You this day, in more than words could possibly express, but only what could be expressed in the Spirit. Lord, let this day be about You, let our thoughts set on You, help us to focus solely upon You. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

  3. The power of the Holy Spirit is overflowing this morning. Praise be to God! After reading Isaiah, it is so easy to see how he was empowered by God for Hezekiah to follow. There are no words to describe the depth of his encounter with God. The choice was his, and what a testament to God that Hezekiah was wise enough to chose the path of good over evil as a King. Here am I, God! Let me serve you and lead the people to follow!

    In the very same way, God chose you, David Mainse, and you made the right and only choice, indeed! Here am I, God! Let me serve you and lead the people to follow! Praise God through whom all blessings flow. Here we are, Lord, we serve You!

    There is profound power in our connection to God through fasting and prayer. It keeps us more connected with Him and keeps evil away from us. I am reminded of my dear friend, Jerry Esonu’s wisdom about fasting and prayer. He would pray and fast for three days at a time when he had a concern to bring before the Lord.

    Blessings to all saints, today!

  4. God intervened in such a mighty way in today’s reading. God has not changed, He will remain the same yesterday, today, and for the future.
    He is our Defender and Strength!
    Thank you for being our guide Pastor David as we journey on.
    Blessings.

  5. Thanks to you David, a true man of God, and all you bloggers who are led by the Holy Spirit to offer prayers and inspired comments to round out the whole wonderful morning experience! God Bless you all for your faithful
    contributions that give our day such a great start!

  6. Amen to you, David, the team and all the fellow bloggers. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”(Romans 11:29). For Israel and for us as His people. When we are not following the Lord so closely, we need to remember when He distinctly spoke to us, for me through His Word, and called us out to follow Him. The Lord Jesus was very faithful to His calling as you are to yours, David. God bless all today.

  7. Thank you very much Pastor David and all servants of God who revealed His truth in leading the prayers and encouraging comments. I felt very blessed, even though I am still having my late stage cancer, I felt my spiritual cancer was cured and got the chance to spend more time with God daily. I’m learning a lot from all of you and I thanked God for all of your faithful and fervent service in Him. Thanks!!

    Blessings in Jesus,

    Janet

  8. Pastor David, we are so blessed to have you as our leader. Thank you for answering the call of God and steadfastly following
    Him in obedience, as you have followed the example of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST?

    I love he words “Here I am! Send me!” May that be all of our prayers.

    Blessings fellow blog buddies and sending love and prayers to all who are suffering in one way or another. It is hard to believe we are half way through, looking forward to what is to come.

  9. Dear David and precious fellow bloggers
    Thank you so much David M. for your full comittment to the Lords calling . This past year has been such a gift for me as a newly rebornn christian . I catch myself so often in our blog with tears of gratitude to our Saviour Jesus Christ who is so very alive by the Power of the Holy Spirit and the prayers that each of you provide in fellowship every morning .
    Dear Janet will be adding you to all those that I pray for
    Blessed day everyone. xxxx Carole.

  10. At the tower of Babylon, a man made effort to reach God, God came and confused the languages and the human race was divided. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and the Church was born, a creation of God, and all the people were united hearing the same message in whatever language they understood. Religion, a man made institution often divides people, but the real Church is united in Christ and in Christ we are connected in ways we cannot even understand and know. This blog and all the wonderful comments and contributions have just reinforce for me God’s plans and ideas go far beyond what we can see. Keep up the readings, let us continue to journey together, for God has lead us all to this time and space for a reason. Keeping all you in my prayers. Amen

    • Whoops- that should be the Tower of Babel, not Babylon. Little worn out from too much gardening this morning, not thinking too clearly– going for a much needed nap now- thank you for understanding.

  11. Thank you so much Scott, and all the rest of you bloggers ,I have been so blessed by allyour prayers and ,added remarks . also David .M. your
    willingness to serve these many years, you have been such a blessing to me..R…I thank you all …R…

  12. Thank you David M and fellow bloggers for your prayers, scriptures and comments. Isa.11:10 says On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples.The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious. Isa.12:1 and 2 says On that day you will say; ” I will praise You, LORD, although You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and You have compassion on me. Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid for Yah, the LORD is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” Blessings to all and I will be praying for you Janet.

  13. Hi David and blog-buddies, l can remember when one afternoon l was in my garden, and thanking God for his wonderful creation, when l found myself praying that l would love to do some teaching. That evening the phone rang and it was someone who was looking for someone to help team teach at a conference, as the other person had become ill. l was shocked to be asked, said l would be glad to, then remembered my prayer.It took me ages to prepare as l wanted to do a good job. When l got there, a spirit of fear came over me and l was very intimidated by the amazing servants of God in the session. My legs went to jello and my heart pounded and my throat was dry.l was glowingly introduced and could barely get up all the while praying that this fear would leave me. As l walked toward the platform, it completely lifted off, and l was filled with the confidence of the Lord! Later l found out that my cousin in England was interceding for me, and knew l was in trouble, and he stormed Heaven for me and paced up and down until he felt the release. l was in Canada, he was in England and we served the Lord together! God is so faithful! Dare l say Here l am Lord send me-Yes!

    • hi christine, i so needed to hear what you wrote today. my nephew is getting married june 1st and they have asked me to read passages from the Bible. i am a shy person and frightened to speak in front of crowds. i wrestled and prayed about this situation last night and today whether i would do it or not. just before reading this i sent a message to them accepting this challenge (and still feeling very scared and hesitant) your message has been encouraging to me thank you. this has been such a weight on my shoulders, i believe God was speaking to me through your words . i pray for faith that he will let the words flow flawlessly out of my mouth and he will give me the courage, calmness and peace to read His Words on their special day. if you think about it would you please send your prayers to me on june 1st.

      blessings to you and once again thank you
      kim

  14. WOW, I ready the Bible reading this morning and now I am reading all the comments. This blog has a way of building others up and letting others know that they are not alone. Thank you blog buddies for the excellent comments and thank you, David Mainse for doing this. I can’t believe we are nearly the half way mark. I have been with you since the beginning. PTL!!! And the neat thing about this blog is you can start now and finish in 2 years. It is awesome and I have told many others about this blog and Bible reading plan. We are indeed blessed!!!!

  15. I am so excited that I have made it to the halfway mark. It has been a thrilling and worthwhile journey!! I have learned so much and can’t wait for the rest. God bless you and give you strength to continue!!!

Leave a Reply to Runy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.