Gospel Reading Plan: Mark 15-16
Prayer & Pride
Read: Isaiah 38-39
God sent Hezekiah a miraculous answer to prayer when He conquered the
Assyrian army, but that wasn’t the only miracle Hezekiah experienced. King Hezekiah became ill and this illness was
going to take his life. Isaiah the
prophet confirmed that he better get his house in order for Hezekiah was about
to die. This disturbed the King and he
prayed for God to remember his faithfulness and heal him. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and told Isaiah
to tell him that He would recover and that 15 more years would be added to his
life. God even gave a miraculous sign
that this would occur. Then came the
most critical moment in the life of Hezekiah as God tested what was really in
his heart. Hezekiah received an envoy from
Babylon who was seeking information about the sign that Hezekiah received. Hezekiah showed them everything in his
storehouses, he was proud to display all his treasures. When Isaiah questioned Hezekiah about this,
he delivers a message of judgment – someday everything in the storehouses will
be taken to the land of Babylon. Hezekiah
forgot that it was God who had given him all his wealth, power and honor. More importantly, he forgot that it was God
who extended his life. Like Hezekiah, we
often turn to God in our times of greatest need, He gives us victories and
saves us but many times we are unwilling to give Him the credit. Because of Hezekiah’s pride the people of
Judah were eventually taken captive by Babylon, the temple was destroyed and the
storehouses emptied. Hezekiah was a
great servant of God and did much good, he was right to go to God in his time
of illness but He was wrong to forget God once the trouble had past.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
- Ask the Lord to show you the truth about where your heart is at in the in the area of your achievements and giving the credit to God.
- Ask the Lord to show you any areas of deep hidden pride that you need to confess today.
- Thank the Lord for His forgiveness. Ask Him to strengthen you to trust Him and not rely on yourself, which is pride.
