Be Careful What You Pray For

05 Feb

The envelope arrives in your mailbox telling you that you have “definitely won” an enormous amount of money. Then you read the fine print, “if the number inside is the winning number.” Your interest is piqued and you follow all the directions, send the official entry form back, and pray that the Lord would make you the winner. In the weeks, months, and years to come, you receive a continuous flow of solicitations to enter the sweepstakes, each one more compelling and urgent than the last. And each one claims the drawing date without the year. You finally realize that the date indicated is still five years out.

We are constantly barraged by tempting offers via mail, email, and internet advertisements that appeal to our human desire to be comfortable and happy. Several decades ago I fell into the sweepstakes belief trap, praying that the Lord would grant me the winning number, believing that the money from such a win would enable me to serve the Lord by the amount that I could donate to missions while paying off our debts…and live happily ever after. Soon God revealed to me the leanness of soul that had crept over me because of my unholy greed.

When we pray outside God’s will, our relationship with God suffers. He might grant us our desires, as he did with King Hezekiah. But what might have been at one time a robust walk with the Lord becomes a gaunt and unhealthy version with little to recommend it to those observing us. As it is written in 2 Kings 20:1-21, when Hezekiah became deathly ill, he tearfully and fervently prayed for God to heal him. In his prayer he reminded God of his perfect heart and truthful walk with Him in the past. God heard, added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life, and gave him a supernatural sign that the prayer was answered.

The Bible says nothing of gratitude on Hezekiah’s part, however. In fact 2 Chronicles 32:25 says, “Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.” In his leanness of soul, he proudly showed all of the kingly treasures, armaments, and people of Judah to the visiting emissaries from Babylon. As a result, God’s message through Isaiah prophesied the coming capture and removal of all of it to Babylon. By the wording of verse 26, it appears that Hezekiah repented. It states that “Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.” The consequences of his actions would be fulfilled, but not until after he was dead.

Hezekiah did much to help Israel. Among other things, Hezekiah had removed the false idols and high places in Jerusalem before his illness. He also built a conduit and a pool, bringing water into the city. But by his actions which sprang from pride, his legacy for Jerusalem was eventual ruin. His sin and the birth of Manasseh, his evil son and successor to the throne of Judah, happened after his healing. Therefore it can be said that the damage he did to his kingdom after his illness far outweighs the accomplishments attributed to him during his reign. His prayer for healing was answered but it left untold damage in its wake for generations.

Throughout the New Testament, Scripture tells us that God’s blessing is bestowed on His children, i.e. those who follow and obey Him. Since 1 John 3:22 tells us “whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight”, we recognize the concept of blessing from obedience to God’s Word. The implication is a unity of goals and desires with God that results from submission to His will. And from that agreement with God come prayers that align with God’s will.