CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 803

“Rabshakeh”

2 Kings 18:28-32 (ESV) Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: …‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, The Lord will deliver us.

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Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking official in the service of the Assyrian king.  He brought the intimidating message of the enemy to the people of Israel.  Jerusalem was under siege and Hezekiah spoke words of encouragement to his people.  The Assyrian king sent the Rabshakeh to speak a competing message seeking to destroy the hope that the people had.

Satan seeks to destroy our hope through competing messages to this day.  Who is the “Rabshakeh” that is speaking to you when you desperately need to cling to hope in the Lord?

Examine your own self talk.  We can be our own worst enemy at times.  Become aware of what you say after the word ‘but’.  The last thing you say about your situation or circumstance is where your heart is concerning it.  You could have made several biblically sound positive affirmations only to negate them all with your closing statement.  Learn to punctuate your words with an encouraging Scripture verse.

Examine your peer group.  Does your peer group largely share your Christian values?  Do they influence you from a Biblical perspective or a worldly perspective?  Are your conversations characteristic of co-dependent, pity-party, gripe sessions rather than spiritually encouraging ministry through God’s Word?

Examine your entertainment context.  What feeds your mind?  What books do you read?  What games do you play?  What TV and movies do you watch?  What music do you listen to?  Is the Rabshakeh speaking doubt and discouragement to your heart and mind through your entertainment?  Does he offer you empty promises of pleasure in this world if you would turn away from trusting in God?

Examine your prayer life.  Is your prayer time characterized as a loving, personal relationship with Father God and His child or is it more of an impersonal ATM transaction?  This intimate, worship time with God fuels your spirit with the Truth of God’s Word and is the antidote to the discouraging words of the Rabshakeh that will come against you.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”- Lamentations 3:21