1 Timothy 3; Isaiah 36-37; Psalm 119:97-120

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying:” (Isaiah 37:14-15 NKJV) 

The biggest, baddest bully among the nations was knocking at Jerusalem’s door and sent Hezekiah a note letting him know that Assyria was coming and Jerusalem would be destroyed. The Assyrian general was one of the loudest trash talkers of all time, and he had the army to back up his words. He mocked the gods of the other nations, who did nothing to stop him, but now he went too far and mocked the God of all creation as he let Hezekiah know that Jerusalem would be destroyed if he didn’t surrender. Hezekiah was scared, rightfully, but he reacted the right way: he went to God and prayed. God honored that prayer and the result was that the Assyrian army was destroyed and their army fled, leaving Jerusalem unharmed.

Our troubles may not come from the biggest, baddest bully in the area. My biggest frustration these days is computer issues – especially when I’m on a short time deadline. I wish I could say that every time I had a problem with my computer or the internet, that I prayed about it. Usually I rant and rave, and then in what God seems to take for a prayer, ask God why this always happens to me. Eventually the problems go away, but I’ve become angrier, harder to deal with. I wonder what would happen if I started praying immediately, in faith, for God to deal with my issues, whether it be computer problems, children issues, or other annoyances and frustrations that are a part of my daily life? I know that God always comes through, whether my prayer be of frustration or faith, but I’m a better person to others when I pray calmly in faith than when I let my frustrations out. If you see me get frustrated, remind me to pray in faith. And what about you? Do you tend to react like me when frustrations and problems hit, or do you turn to God immediately? Will you commit to praying right away instead of displaying your frustrations, just as I have? I think you’ll enjoy the ride on this planet that God’s given you more if you do, too.

Lord, when problems and frustrations arise, and they will, work on me to make my first reaction to lay them out before You in prayer. Let me learn to trust You in all the little things that I’ve been letting get me down. May I experience joy as I give You my problems and watch You solve them.