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2 Kings 1 – Praying Through the Bible #115 – A Prayer Not Prayed to God
God hears our prayers even when we are not praying to Him, even when they are not said to Him. That sounds strange, because who else would we pray to?
The Northern Kings are all idolatrous, some worshipping Yahweh through idols; others worshipping strange gods through idols. Ahaziah is the son of the worst, Ahab and Jezebel. When he has an accident, Ahaziah gets worried. Common reaction. Everyone falls. Common malady. Some fall down the stairs, some up the stairs, some off their bikes and others fall over imaginary lines. Ahaziah falls through a lattice window in his upper room, and injures himself. One of my daughters accidently pushed a good friend through a window. Thankfully, it was on the first floor. Worried, the king sends messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury” (2 Kings 1.2). Baal-zebub is “Lord of the Flies.” Ekron is in Philistia, the historical enemy of Israel. Gone are David’s days of inquiring of the LORD.
Nonetheless, Yahweh hears the prayer. The Angel of the LORD says to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the King of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? (1.4). God’s answer is not going to tickle the ears: “You will not get up from your sickbed – you will certainly die” (1.4). The messengers return immediately to Ahaziah, surprising him. “Why have you come back?” (1.5). So they tell the king word for word what God’s prophet said. These messengers do a better job of preaching than some modern preachers! No parsing, no twisted interpretation, no theological bias. After asking questions, Ahaziah discovers it is Elijah. Apparently being “a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist” (1.8) gave him away. How would someone describe you in one sentence?
Two loutish captains are sent to Elijah. God doesn’t like their impudence (1.9-15). Because of God’s “fiery” temper, the third captain is more polite. Elijah sends another similar message to the unfaithful king, “Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub…you will certainly die” (1.16). Ahaziah prayed to the wrong god, but the right God heard. If only he’d prayed to The God, he might have received grace to live.
Today some sobriety group members make inanimate objects, like a chair, their “higher power.” Isn’t that as idolatrous and senseless as praying to a nonexistent “Lord of the Flies?” Today, when worried or ill, who are we talking to and trusting instead of God? Do we trust friends, counselors or doctors more than God? There is nothing wrong with seeking help, unless it supplants our prayers. Do we replace God? Do we “pray” to ourselves making us our own god? Whether to a false god, a chair, or friend or expert, God still hears our words and un-prayed thoughts. Is He pleased? “Lattice” Pray!
Prayer Challenge: When we get worried, who do we talk to the most?
Lattice pray – good one, Perry!