The Link to the message is below.
This was going to be one message, but it turned into two messages. These two messages have different titles but the same message – our prayers reaching the heart of our Heavenly Father.
In the last article, I took a look at the prayer life of Moses and Samuel. In this article, I will take a look at two more men in the Bible, King Hezekiah and Daniel. These two men prayed to their God, and they moved his heart. It is amazing to me. We serve the same God today as Hezekiah and Daniel served. That tells me we can also move the heart of God.
Do you really believe you can move the heart of God as these two men did? I believe most Christians do not get this close to their Heavenly Father (in a relationship with him) to believe they can move his heart. That is the key to all of this that I am trying to convey to you in this article. We are to live by faith. Do we?
The first part of Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith, it is impossible to please him.” We know these two verses, but do we really live by them? I will be the first to say I believe in the sovereignty of God, and because he is God, he is sovereign. He has the final say in everything. But I believe most Christians and preachers, in their prayer life, hide behind the sovereignty of God. I will mention two times (there is more all throughout the Bible) where you see that man moved the heart of a sovereign God to change what he was going to do.
Moses did when he stood in the breach (Psalm 106:23). Hezekiah was going to die on a certain day (you shall not pass). He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord decided to allow him to live 15 more years. The day we are appointed to die, we die. Not HEZEKIAH on the first appointed day; he moved the heart of God. Preachers and Christians know these verses, but they still will hide behind the sovereignty of God. What is so amazing to me is our Heavenly Father wants us to have this close of a prayer life to him to move him in this way. Let’s get to the message.
- Hezekiah: 2 Kings 20:1-3, 6
2 Kings 20:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Kings 20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
2 Kings 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
2 Kings 20:6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”
In verse one, I believe it when the Lord told the prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to get his house in order because he was going to DIE AND NOT LIVE. Most people never get their house in order before they die. Do you have your house in order today? Most people are so wrapped up in the here and now that the time of death is a surprise to them. Then it is too late to get your house in order. I believe the Lord can be talking about a will but, more importantly, in spiritual order with your creator.
In verse two, how did Hezekiah react to the news of his soon death? Remember, he was king of Israel. He turned his face to the wall. How would you react to this kind of news? The first thing Hezekiah did was humble himself completely. Maybe the reason why you cannot move the heart of the Lord is that you do not humble yourself completely. Hezekiah did this. He did not have one ounce of pride in his heart.
E.M. Bounds was an old-time Methodist preacher. He lived in South Georgia. It has been said that you can see where he was facing the walls in his house while he was praying throughout the house; the walls are messed up from his sweat, tears, and breath. I plan on visiting his house before we move back to Texas. How messed up are your walls from praying to the Lord?
In verse three, his second move was, “I beseech thee, O Lord.” What does this mean? Hezekiah prayed from his heart to the Lord’s heart, and this was no normal prayer he was praying to the Lord to extend his life here on earth. If we could go back in time and listen to Hezekiah’s prayer, it might scare us. Many Christians and preachers are not used to hearing this kind of prayer or even saying this kind of prayer to their Lord. If you are praying for your lost son, would this prayer be a normal prayer like the rest? No, you’re interceding on behalf of your son to the Lord to save him and to escape the pits of hell.
How long did Hezekiah pray? How loud did he get in the prayer? He reminded the Lord that he walked with him through his life. Hezekiah said, “in truth.” If you are not in truth, you will not be able to move the heart of God. Hezekiah had a close relationship with his Lord throughout his life (except for the last 15 years of his life). The third thing Hezekiah did was that he “wept sore.” How many tears did he shed in this prayer? I believe it was many tears. How many tears have you shed while you were praying? He wept sorely. He was not only shedding tears, he was wailing to his God while he was praying to him. This was no normal prayer. When you are wailing to God in your prayers, your stomach and throat will start hurting.
In verse six, we see the results of a man moving the heart of God. The Lord added 15 years to his life. YES, WE CAN MOVE THE HEART OF GOD. This prayer affected the city of Jerusalem also.
- Daniel 9: 3-5; In closing, Daniel 9:23
Daniel 9:3 “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
Daniel 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”
Verse three: Daniel set his face unto the Lord God. In the New Testament, Luke 9:51 says, “he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” which means no matter what, he will make it to Jerusalem. He is determined to get to the city. This is the same meaning here when Daniel said this. He was determined to reach the heart of the Lord. Have you ever prayed to the Lord, and when you started praying, you said in your heart, I will not stop praying until I have an answer? This was Daniel. What else did he do? Seek by prayer, supplications, fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Wow! No wonder he was able to move the heart of God. Never in my life have I put myself in sackcloth and put ashes on my head. I believe there will be a good chance of this happening soon before the Lord takes up his church.
In verse four, he said, “I made my confession.” I wonder how long it took for Daniel to do this part of his prayer. We need to do this every day of our lives. Sometimes it may take a long time to do this if it has been a long time since you have confessed to your Father your sins.
In verse five, Daniel said, “we have sinned.” He was confessing the sins of his people to the Lord; they had departed from the Word of God.
The closing verse 23 hit me so hard when I was studying it years ago; it is the first part of the verse. When Daniel started his supplications in verse three, this is when the COMMANDMENT CAME FORTH. The commandment came from the Throne of God to Gabriel to go to Daniel to give him skill and understanding of the coming tribulation period. This blows me away. Can you imagine – you pray, and the commandment comes from the throne of God to answer your prayer?
How were these many able to move the heart of God?
- Moses besought the Lord.
- Moses, when he prayed, quoted Scripture to the Lord.
- Samuel did not quit praying.
- Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall (he humbled himself).
- He walked with the Lord in truth.
- Daniel set his face to the Lord.
- He prayed, fasted, repented, and put on sackcloth and ashes.
I pray that this will help you in your prayer life with the Lord. We need to work on our prayer life every day. It is hard work, but it is worth it.
“O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!” (Job 16:21).
Job was longing for someone to intercede on his behalf to God.
I am asking all prayer warriors from around the world to join us for a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance for these seven nations on January 12, 2023.
1, Ecuador and on behalf of over 18,311,149 precious souls.
- Guyana and on behalf of over 813,834 precious souls.
- Panama and on behalf of over 4,484,339 precious souls.
- Paraguay and on behalf of over 7,351,232 precious souls.
- Peru and on behalf of over 34,116,428 precious souls.
- Israel and all Jews around the world, over 15.2 million precious souls.
- USA and on behalf of over 335,845,677 precious souls.
Please join us for the harvest of lost souls. There are probably billions of people around the world that are crying out for someone to pray for them to God.
Facebook page: Prayer Warriors 4HIM Online Ministries
Email bkwatts64@yahoo.com
Keith Watts
Online Missionary to the world