Isaiah 37:21 … “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me….”
Do you ever wake up in the morning and just feel sad?
That was my case recently. Not only had my football team just lost what should have been an easy win, our quarterback suffered a season-ending injury and our head coach got fired. Then I learned my favorite actress died. And to top it off, I had a conversation that threw me into a tizzy. None of these factors were earth-shattering, but I knew I was positioning myself for being targeted by an enemy who pounces on every weakness. Who exaggerates bad things and makes them worse.
I could feel myself sinking.
Then I opened my morning scripture. I happened to be reading Isaiah 35. The verses in that powerful chapter of affirmation drove me to tears. Strengthen weak hands and feeble knees (v. 3). Don’t be afraid, anxious hearts, for your God will come and save you (v. 4). Sorrow and sighing will be replaced with gladness and joy (v. 10). I took those passages to heart and began to pray.
And faith rose.
Although none of the circumstances that weighed me down changed one bit, my perspective on them did. By the time I finished praying, my wavering heart, hands and knees had found renewed strength. Joy overtook depression. Nothing had changed, but everything changed. Without prayer, my gloomy outlook would have sabotaged the rest of the day. God had better plans.
King Hezekiah experienced straits far more dire than mine. The whole Assyrian army threatened to destroy Jerusalem. But in his desperation, Hezekiah cried out to God for help. And because he prayed (Isa. 37:21) the Lord answered and miraculously delivered Israel from Assyria.
I believe we sometimes think God doesn’t want to be bothered with our, relatively speaking, small, sad situations. Oh, but he does. Our appeals are not bothersome to him. He knows, better than we do, that our enemy will use the little disappointments we face to put us on a trajectory toward misery. He longs for us to seek him. And he promises to save us when we do.
So the next time you experience a sad morning, or afternoon, or evening for that matter, take heart. Let prayer change everything.