God has granted us an invitation - an invitation to pray - to call upon His name. And He promises that if we call upon His name, He will hear us - God is listening!
Hezekiah relied on the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. He remained faithful to the Lord and did not turn from following him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses. —2 Kings 18:5-6
Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:
Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’ —2 Kings 19:14-20
In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ”
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. —2 Kings 20:1-5
I. HEALTHY PRAYER INCLUDES A HEALTHY
2 Kings 19:14b
2 Kings 20:2-3
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit. —Psalm 34:17-18
In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble. —1 Peter 5:5
Why is God not hearing our prayers?
a. Unbelief
In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.” —Psalm 10:4
But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways. —James 1:6-8
b. Selfishness
You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. —James 4:3
c. Disobedience
Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save,
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
But your iniquities are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not listen. —Isaiah 59:1-2
If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened. —Psalm 66:18
Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law—
even his prayer is detestable. —Proverbs 28:9
d. Fractured Relationships
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. —Matthew 5:23-24
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.” —Mark 11:25
Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. —1 Peter 3:7
II. HEALTHY PRAYER INCLUDES HEALTHY
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
“For as heaven is higher than earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. —Isaiah 55:8-9