Day 203/365- 2 Chronicles 32:20-21

Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword. (2 Chronicles 32:20, 21 NLT)

What can prayer do? Does it really work? Is anybody really listening? Why does God seem to answer some & seem to ignore others?

These questions all represent the mystery that is prayer. And yet God calls us to prayer & promises to answer prayer. The Bible is full of prayers & praying people who encourage us to approach God himself to bring requests. And so, we pray & we should, for prayer does more for us than we could possibly imagine.

Here in 2 Chronicles we have an account of direct answer to prayer. The Assyrians are knocking on the door of Jerusalem & threatening to wipe out God's people & God's city. The Assyrians are the most powerful nation in the world, at least on paper. But when the enemies of God have armies, God's people have prayer.

God's king & God's prophet come to God in prayer, in a desperate situation (which often evokes prayer), & they ask God to intervene. What else is there to do in the face of an army so big? And so they ask God to intervene & God does.

Big time.

God takes out 185,000 soldiers in one night, something only he can do. And so we see in this passage that God directly answers the prayer of his people. We have, in the same verse, a request & an answer. God answered the desperate prayer of his people.

Maybe God doesn't always answer our prayers because we are not desperate for him. We ask out of our resources & not his. We ask with a backup plan & not as God as our only hope. We ask not as if we need him but just that we will take him. We have talents, money, & plans that keep us from God answering prayer. We also have what James calls, "Asking so that we can spend it on our passions" & that's why our prayers are not answered.

Whatever the reasons, we must pray & pray like Isaiah & Hezekiah. We must pray as if our lives depend on it, because they do.