So the Earth May Know

Scripture:

II Kings 19:19 "Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God".

Observation:

Hezekiah was told that the Assyrians were coming to destroy Judah.  Sennacherib taunted the God of Israel and said that other countries had trusted their gods and Judah was no different.  He said that no god could stop his army and Hezekiah knew exactly how to pray in this situation.  He did not just pray for victory, but, in that victory that the world would see that God is Lord of all the earth.  He prayed for victory, not so he could be seen as a great leader, but that the world may see the awesomeness of the God of Judah.

Application:

Many times our prayers are only for our needs and have nothing to do with bringing God glory.  We give Him our list of what we need done and then get upset when He doesn't do everything we said.  What if our prayers became focused on Him?  What if our heart wanted prayers to be answered, not for our convenience, but for God's name to be glorified?  When praying for land for our church, we should pray that God gives us an incredible piece of land, not so that we look good, but that He looks good.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to pray prayers that will bring you glory and not just selfish prayers.  I want to see Your name lifted up and for people to see Your power undeniably.  Show Your self strong in my life, my church and ministry so that the earth may know that there is a God in heaven.  Let our church bring you praise and be a testimony to the world that our God is awesome.

Yours,
Jeff