Presenting our requests to God

I was reading Isaiah 36 and 37 this morning. Chapter 36 talks about the threat of the King of Assyria against Judah. Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, sent his Chief of Staff, Rabshakeh to put fear in the hearts of the Jewish people. Isn't this what the devil is trying to do all along? He is the master of deception, putting up all kinds of half-truths and lies to make people fearful or anxious. Let's take a look at the deception spoken by Rabshakeh:

1. He equated the high altars that Hezekiah removed with that of the LORD's (36:7).
2. Overstating the strength of the Assyrians (36:9).
3. Putting the LORD on the same pedestal as the gods of the heathen (36:19-20).

I was talking to a Buddhist colleague recently and he was trying to paint me a picture that all religious paths lead to the same God. And certainly we can see this playing out in the internet whereby there are teachings trying to marry the different scriptures of the various religions. So we can see that people in our day and age are putting Christ in the same pedestal as other religious founders.

King Hezekiah did the right thing when he heard the taunts of the Assyrian King - he humbled himself in sackcloth and sought the LORD (37:1). He sent his emissaries over to Isaiah the prophet (37:2). The prophetic word given by Isaiah was very encouraging, "Do not be afraid ... I will make him fall by a sword in his own land." (37:6-7). And that's what we need in times when we are really down and out - to hear a word from the LORD that would strengthen us and keep us going in life. This word can come from the still small voice of the Holy Spirit residing within us or it could come from God's people speaking into our lives or it could come directly from God's Word.

King Hezekiah presented the letter of threat to the LORD (37:4). He praised God as the creator of the heaven and earth and prayed that all kingdoms may know He alone is the living God (37:16-20). Isaiah sent to Hezekiah another word of encouragement, "Because you have prayed to Me ..." (37:21). God sent His angel into the Assyrian camp and destroyed 185,000 people and also the eventual death of Sennacherib (37:36-38). I believe we should also pray like Hezekiah of old that all the nations may know that the LORD God is the only living God, and there's none like Him. I mentioned to my friend that Christ is coming back to judge the world and that's where the separation of the sheep and goat would take place. There are currently wheat and tares growing side by side and we can't tell the difference between one and the other. Many religious people will claim that we are all alike in our outlook, but ultimately judgment day would prove otherwise.