"And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and
spread it before the Lord."
I LOVE this phrase "spread it before the Lord"! As my Bible study note said that the Lord of course didn't need to read the letter because He knew all about it! It is such a human thing to do to lay it all out and say "Here is my problem . . . I need help." I feel like I did this to an extent this week with a certain problem and it is was good. I need to converse with my Father and spread it out in front of Him. He wants me to seek Him in prayer. Of course, yes, He knows my situations but the petitioning is healthy for me and besides He has told me to do it!
My Bible has a note that says "The Lord certainly did not need to read the blasphemous letter of the Assyrian king in order to know what it contained. Nevertheless, it pleases Him when we "remind" Him of His promises and of our dependence on Him."
I may be goofy but I just love that phrase! ". . . spread it before the Lord" it really gives me a humorous and secure feeling at the same time. Kinda like "Ok God, you gotta see or listen to this . . . let me tell you about this . . ." that's where I see the humor and yet He knows and He listens and He helps there comes the security.
I am reading The Light and the Glory (by Peter Marshall and David Manuel). This book whether one agrees with the premise of the book or not is challenging personally as it looks at the lives of people who made an impact on the beginnings of America. I was so challenged yesterday when I read about the Pilgrims. I'm a spiritual wimp! I was challenged by their tenacious faith and their attentiveness to keep a short account with God. They were masters at laying things before their Father God. Here is an excerpt from the book talking about their time on the Mayflower.
"It added up to seven weeks of the hell of an ill-lighted, rolling, pitching, stinking inferno, the kind that brings up sins that had lain buried for years--anger, self-pity, bitterness, vindictiveness, jealousy, despair. All these surfaced sins had to be faced, confessed, and given up to the Lord for His cleansing. No matter how ill they felt, or how grim the daily situation, they continued to seek God together, praying through despair and into peace and thanksgiving."
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