WAITING FOR OUR PRAYERS

Today's promise: God protects his people

Waiting for our prayers

Jehohaz prayed for the Lord's help, and the Lord heard his prayer. The Lord could see how terribly the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. So the Lord raised up a deliverer to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days.

2 Kings 13:4-5 NLT

Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence.

W. S. Bowden

A God who rescues

Jehoahaz, king of Israel, lived an evil life. He committed all the sins of Jeroboam and continued leading the nation into the sin of idolatry. So the Lord turned the people of Israel over to be oppressed by the Arameans. But even though Jehoahaz had been a failure and disobedient to God as a king, when he sought the Lord's help, God heard. And seeing the terrible oppression Israel was living under, he intervened. He raised up a deliverer and savior (a foreshadowing of Christ), one who rescued them from tyranny, and Israel once again lived in safety and peace.

If God will do this for an evil king and an idolatrous nation when they call out to him, how much more will he hear and respond to the prayers of his children, who are reconciled to him because of the sacrifice of our savior, Jesus.

LORD, I thank you that your ear is open to the cry of your children and that you will act on our behalf. With that knowledge, we don't ever have to hesitate to cry out to you for your help and intervention in our lives. What a wonderful Father you are!

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for June 28.

Digging Deeper: read the new release of The Gates of Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Tyndale, 2006), the first of The Zion Chronicles novels based on events surrounding Israel's statehood in 1948.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House