FBC Morning Light – June 17, 2023

Good Saturday morning, people of faith.

Hezekiah’s Sickness and God’s Word Through Isaiah

We're in 2 Kings chapter 20 for our reading this morning, and I'm just going to say you might want to slip your theological thinking cap on as we begin reading. Chapter 20 and verse 1,. In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death.

And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live. Then he, that's Hezekiah, turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in your sight.

And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, surely I will heal you.

On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.

God’s Omniscience and the Purpose of Prayer

So the question that should come to mind here is, maybe several, but what did God know and when did He know it? Did He need Hezekiah's prayer to change His mind? Well, to begin with, it is a certain truth that God knows the end from the beginning in all things.

God knew everything that was going to be written here, He knew everything that was going to be said here, He knew everything about this situation before it happened. So you might want to, if you think that there was something that God was learning here, in Hezekiah's prayer to him, seeing if whether or not this would be true about Hezekiah, that he would pray when he got the bad news that he was going to die, no, God was not surprised.

He is not surprised by anything that happens in your life, my life, Hezekiah's life, or anyone else's life. Yet, at the same time, you should ask yourself the question, what does it matter if I pray if God knows everything beforehand?

So we have two parallel truths here, sometimes that's called a paradoxical situation, where God knows what will happen, and yet He chooses to orchestrate things in such a way that James is still true when James says, the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

So what do we have here? We have a situation where God orchestrated the situation so that Hezekiah's prayer would make a difference, right? Are there things that are arranged in your life so that your prayers will make a difference?

I firmly believe that that is the case. We are told to pray, we are encouraged to pray, and we are promised that as a righteous person that our prayers will avail much, right? So is God using this situation in Hezekiah's prayer to change Hezekiah?

Absolutely. Is He also using it to change Hezekiah's situation? Absolutely. Does God still know everything there is to know before, during, and after this? Certainly true. God did not learn anything in this situation.

God knows everything already, yet He does wish for us, or it is His will, He doesn't wish, it is His will for us to pray and change things at the same time. Well, I hope your theological thinking cap isn't too tight this morning, but I hope that this has given you some things to contemplate and think about as you think about our Lord today.

Prayer, Trust, and Closing Benediction

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to come before you in prayer. We know that prayer does change things, and yet you still know the end from the beginning, and you've arranged it so that our prayers can change things.

We trust you. We place our faith in you as the one true, omniscient God. It's in your Son's name, Jesus, that we pray, amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.