Isaiah 38:20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
How big does a problem need to be before you can pray about it? We can get caught on either side of this question. Sometimes we think that things are too small to pray about. Other times we think that things are too big to pray about. If nothing could be too big for God, then what could possibly be too small for God? You see, God wants to hear from us. God wants our dependence to be on Him every day.
Now, when it comes to big things, think about Hezekiah. He was a big man with a big job. He was the king of God’s people. There came a time when Isaiah the prophet came to him and said, “Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.” This was pretty blunt and very clear. God said, “You are going to die, and what I mean by that is you are not going to live.”
“Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD.” What a wonderful thing! Sometimes, we only pray when we have no other option, and because there is no other option, we think that there is no hope. It is almost as if God will not answer our prayers unless we can see the means by which He could do so.
Nothing could be further from the truth. God does use means. In fact, He used means in the healing of Hezekiah in the story to follow, but God is not required to do so. God is not limited by the world that He created. God is sometimes limited by the people He created in the sense that they don’t ask Him or seek Him.
Hezekiah didn’t have a choice. He prayed and God told Isaiah, “Go, and say to Hezekiah… I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” Here is a case where something was going to happen, someone prayed, and the outcome changed. Now I don’t know how all that works, but I know that it works. I don’t know completely how prayer works. It is somewhat of a mystery to me, but I know we are commanded to do it.
What I love is that when Hezekiah reflects on all this later he says, “The LORD was ready to save me.” Hezekiah is essentially saying that God was not just grudgingly willing to answer his request; He was ready! It was almost as if God was waiting to save Hezekiah.
The enormity of your problem does not necessarily reflect an unwillingness on God’s part to answer your prayer. Don’t refrain from prayer because you think something is too small, and don’t refrain from praying because you think something is too big. Remember that God is sovereign. We ask Him, and He is the One Who answers because He is the One Who is God.