“Not My Will, But Thine, Be Done”

“In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” 

This morning, I received a text containing a portion of a devotional about the above passage. In these verses, we read of Hezekiah receiving a “death sentence”. However, after begging God to give him more years of life, God granted his request. Following is the portion of the devotional I received –

“God was good in sparing Hezekiah’s life, for Hezekiah’s sake, but Israel paid a heavy price down the road, when Manasseh became king and ruled ruthlessly for fifty-five years. He was born in the fifty-five year time frame! Someone once wrote a song…Thank God for unanswered prayers. Think about it.” ~ Tim Green

This morning, I was reminded twice about the great importance of praying “Father, if thou be willing…nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42  Oh yes, this can be very, very hard at times – when we think we know what’s best…even when we are seeking deliverance in a time of suffering. But, we must remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We can trust Him.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9