Just Pray About It
During a previous summer, I was working as a camp pastor. I was in conversation with a younger staff member about a certain matter. Being me and being a pastor, I wanted to help. Knowing some of the details, I offered my assistance: “I would do this and that.” And quite frankly, this and that were decent ideas. The young staff member looked intently and spoke directly, “Just pray about it.” Just. Pray. About. It. Her edict was not the resigned suggestion born of helplessness – you know, the “Now that I’ve exhausted my ideas, let’s surrender it to prayer.” Rather, her directive emerged from a realization that significant change requires God’s intervention. Hearing the good advice, I shelved my idea for this and that and opted for something significantly more powerful: prayer.
The Bible tells of Hezekiah, the King of Judah who faced an insurmountable foe and opted to ‘pray about it.’ During Hezekiah’s reign, the Assyrian empire expanded continuously, including absorbing 10 tribes of Israel. The brutal Assyrians then swept through Judah and arrived at the nation’s last stronghold: Jerusalem. The marauders’ victory seemed assured. Just as every other city collapsed, so would Jerusalem. Upon surrounding the city of David, the Assyrian king publicly taunted King Hezekiah: “Your Lord God cannot deliver you;” “No help is coming;” and “Surrender now and be spared.” After some posturing and with no surrender forthcoming, the invading king pleaded with Hezekiah:
Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them? (2 Kings 19.10-12a)
King Hezekiah, upon receiving this final message, went to the temple and prayed to God.
“Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib (the Assyrian King) has sent to ridicule the living God.
“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19.15-19)
So how did this story end? Look at this map. Find the small reddish circle inside the great yellow expanse. Now, note the city’s name inside that circle: Jerusalem. The Bible tells the details of deliverance, but for our purpose, a four-word synopsis follows: God answered Hezekiah’s prayer.
As I mentioned in a recent service, our church is currently encountering a minor dilemma: a neighbor keeps piling their dog’s poop bags alongside the church building. As we know, locals are welcome on the church’s greenspace, and accordingly, I expect some inconveniences. Yet, this pile of poop bags irks me. While I cannot know a person’s heart, I can surmise those actions likely indicate a flaunting disrespect for God. My instincts tell me, let’s shame the offender: hidden cameras, ‘wanted’ posters, and social media posts. And then, my friend’s directive echoes in my thoughts: “Just pray about it.”
Yeah … let’s do that.
