Whose Will?

2 Kings 20:1 – In those days Hezekiah became deadly ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, "Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover." (AMP)

At first, her story shocked me. "Yes", she said. "God did do a miracle in my brother's life. Even as a child, he was a very gifted artist. Realizing that an unexpected illness would kill him, our prayers refused to settle for anything less than recovery. Forget God's will. We wanted ours. And he lived: to become a drunkard and a wastrel, with nary another thought to his talent or to God."

Hezekiah, too, refused to accept God's will. He begged God to remember what a great God-follower he had been, and he pleaded for more time (2 Kings 20:3). God answered his prayer, and so Manasseh was born — Manasseh, who ruled for fifty-five years and established idol worship, sacrificed his son by fire, defied prophets, and even (tradition has it) sawed his father's best friend, the prophet Isaiah, in two.

Answered prayer is a wonderful thing, but the only really safe prayer policy is God's will. Will we have the courage to accept it?

Prayer: Father God, we so want our own way. Even when facing a horrible death on the cross, Your Son, Jesus, submitted His will to Yours. He cried out, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but [always] Yours be done." (Luke 22:42 AMP) Father, give us the courage always to pray the same. Amen.

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