Appointment for Salvation

Continual prayer to God is God's will for the life of a follower of Jesus, that we would boldly venture into His throne room of grace in times of need.  Like the scent and wisp of smoke rises continually from incense, so our prayers are to be lifted to the LORD believing He will hear and answer.  One thing I love about God is He knows all and can do everything, and thus we do not need to know anything about what He should do.  Knowing and trusting Him is the main thing, and when we pray God moves according to His will.

One of the things we must be on guard of is leaving the way and timing of His actions in His plans.  If we trust Him to pray, we ought to also entrust what follows to Him.  He knew about needs which would arise before we became desperately aware of a need to seek God in prayer, and what is an emergency for us is already resolved according to His redemptive design and power.  King Jehoshaphat on the cusp of battle prayed to God, rehearsing all God said in the house of the LORD in 2 Chronicles 20:6-12:  "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ⁷ Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? ⁸ And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ 'If disaster comes upon us--sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine--we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.' ¹⁰ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir--whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them--¹¹ here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

Isn't it interesting how Jehoshaphat asked God several questions he already knew the answers to?  The threat of defeat was imminent, so Jehoshaphat fixed his eyes on God with the expectancy of His favourable answer.  He made no demand of the almighty God yet was so sure of God's word through the prophet he sent the worship leaders to lead the march the following day because the battle was the LORD's.  King Hezekiah also provides a good example of how to pray in times of trouble, when it is easy to be overwhelmed by powerful enemies.  Hezekiah brought a threatening letter and spread it before the LORD and 2 Kings 19:15-19 reads, "Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: "O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands--wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. ¹⁹ Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone."

Hezekiah had not been reproached, but he recognised God had been reproached by the Assyrians who placed the living God of Israel on the same level with dumb idols.  They could not see or hear or act because they were nothing, yet God was aware of the proud boasting against Him.  For God's sake Hezekiah said, "O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone."  It is wise to make God our last resort when by His grace we are reminded to seek Him, yet how much better is it when we seek Him first!  When we are overwhelmed, God has all in hand.  He is able to save and protect us when none others have withstood the trial, and praise the LORD this is true for eternity.

We don't even need to pray perfectly for God to do His wonders.  When David heard his chief advisor Ahithophel had defected to side with usurping Absalom he prayed in 2 Samuel 15:31, "O LORD, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!"  It turned out this was not the way God chose to deliver David from the hand of his murderous son.  Ahithophel continued to give sage counsel Absalom would have been wise to heed, but God caused Absalom and all his men to prefer the advice of Hushai David's friend over that of Ahithophel.  God had already made an appointment to defeat the schemes of the conspirators in 2 Samuel 17:14:  "So Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." For the LORD had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring disaster on Absalom."  God purposed to defeat sound advice from Ahithophel rather than make it foolish, and God receives the glory for the salvation rendered by His grace.

The takeaway?  Let us pray, whether it been at appointed times or moment by moment as needs arise.  Keep your eyes looking to the LORD, and realise He is LORD alone.  God will accomplish His good and redemptive purposes despite our suggestions, for He is a Saviour and a Redeemer of all who seek Him.