(Day 17) Seeking God Through His Word, Prayer, and Fasting

2 Kings 19

Negative, bad news can rattle us and shake us to our core. Living in a media age, we are engulfed by a 24 hour news cycle that loops and endlessly spins. We get news alerts on our devices, continuous tv tickers, breaking news, updates, alerts etc. Interestingly, most of the news is not good. Bad news is what's featured and there's plenty of it. The impact of these things on our spirit can pull us down into despair and often contributes to the fear and frenzy of our times. Satan is the god of this world and is described in the Word of God as being the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). This means that he has rule in the airwaves. The spirit behind much of what's produced for tv, the internet, and satellite radio is influenced by the enemy of our soul. Satan subtly and sometimes openly, pushes his message and mania through social media and the airwaves.

This is why we must stay in fellowship with God through a life of prayer, fasting, and devotion in His Word. We should be informed about what's happening in our world but we shouldn't allow ourselves to be consumed with it. The spirit of it is intended to create a certain mindset in us that drains us and distracts us from what God is saying. He's our good news and our faith in Him is what gives us confidence to face the challenges of life. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).

In our reading from 2 Kings, we have a battle of messages. It's a battle between what God has said and what the enemy is saying. The question that we face in our lives is whose report will you believe? (see Numbers 13:25-33). The king of Assyria sends his general to intimidate the people of God with threats of destruction unless they cut a deal. This is Satan's plan even with you and me; to pull us away from faith and commitment to God into compromising. The Assyrian general Rabshakeh gives to King Hezekiah's men a series of suggestions, all with the same intent to pull God's people away from faith and confuse them.

1. It's pointless to have confidence (2 Kings 18:19)

2. Save yourself from the trouble of warfare, lets cut a deal (2 Kings 18:23)

3. I was actually sent by the Lord (2 Kings 18:25)

4. Don't listen to your leader that's encouraging you to trust in the Lord (2 Kings 18:29-32)

5. We are undefeated in war, don't try us (2 Kings 18:33)

King Hezekiah wisely instructs his men not to answer Rabshakeh because we don't need to engage in a conversation with the enemy; his message is being sent to muddy the waters and cloud our judgement (verse 37). So when King Hezekiah receives the bad news from his men, what does he do? he immediately went into the house of the Lord (2 Kings 19:1). We are to seek refuge in the name of the Lord; for the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe (Proverbs 18:10). Not only does the king retreat to the sanctuary of God, but he sends a team of trusted people to seek the Word of God from the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2). We need God's Word to drown out the noise and negativity that's swirling all around us. In His Word is comfort and counsel to help us navigate our way.

When they come to Isaiah, the inspired word that God gives him to give to King Hezekiah is Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with with the servant of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me (2 Kings 19:6). The airways today are charged with frightful forecasts to quench the fires of our faith in God and make us shaky. The enemy wants to stop us from praying and seeking the face of God. He wants to discourage you from presenting yourself to God as a submitted vessel. But the Word of God to you is be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard - (verse 6).

* Notice the rapid fire attack of the enemy who counters the Word from God to encourage Hezekiah with a message of his own to discourage him. Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:10). Who are you listening to? are you listening to the lies of Satan that he sends to strip you of your faith or are you holding on to the promises of God that are faithful are sure? Hezekiah exemplifies for us how we are to approach God in prayer when our ears are being bombarded by the lies of Satan.

And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord , and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth (Kings 19:14-15). Hezekiah sought the counsel of God's Word from the prophet and took personal responsibility to call on God for himself. We should always employ the prayerful support of those that faithfully pray for others, but their praying doesn't relieve us of our need to lift our heart to God in prayer.

Hezekiah didn't ignore the letter that was handed to him to bring fear to his heart; what did he do with the letter? He READ IT and SREAD IT before the Lord! He didn't internalize it, and mull over it; he didn't let it get into his system. He read it and quickly spread it before his God. He handed it over to the Lord to handle, casting it onto the shoulders of the God that made heaven and earth. And because God was pleased with the sincerity of his prayer, He immediately sends the prophet Isaiah to him with ANOTHER WORD to shut down the lies of Satan, because God always has the last say! The final word belongs to God. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard (2 Kings 19:20). In response to Hezekiah's prayer, God would judge the king of Assyria and protect His people (see 2 Kings 19:35-37). God hears our prayers and He has a word to encourage our heart that will silence the noise of our enemy.

From the heart and hand of Pastor Reginald Reaves