Is prayer always a good thing? What about prayer without much thought to consequences? What about praying a curse over somebody? What if prayer was a problem and a scourge like death and taxes?
I am starting this article with two quotes. The first is the last stanza of ‘Do not go gently into that good night’ by Dylan Thomas:
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Thomas is exhorting his father not to succumb to death, to fight against it with all his might.
The second quote comes from 2Kings 20
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now 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. (KJV. 2Kings 20:1-3)
The NKJV says Hezekiah ‘wept bitterly’. Hezekiah did all he could to fight against death. If the dates of these two quotes were reversed, it would seem that Hezekiah took Thomas’ words to heart and ‘raged’ against death. He did not want to die even though it was God's will. Most of us rage against death, especially our own, clinging to as many days, weeks, and years as we can.
The writer of Hebrews had this to say: And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27).
Benjamin Franklin wrote: ‘...in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ What he did not write was the certainty of an answer to heartfelt prayer.
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Death is a foregone conclusion for all of us. We will all die someday. Hezekiah knew this, he had done what was right and good. He believed in God. He had seen God at work. When Jerusalem was surrounded by Sennacherib’s army, God gave him a resounding victory and the promise of Sennacherib’s destruction, yet he was still afraid. So he prayed and how he prayed, begging and crying for those extra days. The Lord heard his prayer and added fifteen years to his life. Wow! we say, what a wonderful miracle, especially when added to the miracle of the retreating shadow. (2Kings 19:14)
Prayer is the most powerful tool we can use when we are troubled. It is the ‘go-to’ for most people in difficult circumstances. But how seldom do we look past our own immediate selfish needs and wants and consider the consequences of our prayer? We only think of the immediate benefit to ourselves.
There was a reason God had ordained that Hezekiah should die. When he did die fifteen years later, his twelve-year-old son, Manasseh ascended the throne and 55 years of terror descended on Judah. Thousands were put to death and pagan worship was installed as the state religion. If Hezekiah had died at his appointed time, Manasseh would never have been born and Judah would have been spared the terror of his reign. God knew this would happen, yet He still honored Hezekiah’s prayer. Now that’s amazing, far more so than the extra fifteen years.
Dylan Thomas saw death as darkness whereas Paul the Apostle saw it as an escape to the city of light. Gandalf in ‘Lord of the Rings’ called it ‘another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it...White shores, and beyond a far green country under a swift sunrise.’
Death now does perhaps mean ‘tears at bedtime’ but it also means a great welcoming into the Everlasting Light. How different Judah’s history may have been if Hezekiah had accepted his fate. How different if we prayed according to His will more often.
Bibliography.
Thomas, Dylan. Do not go gentle into that good night.
King James version of the Holy Bible.
Spirit-Filled Life Bible. Published by Nelson. New King James version.
Sparks, Jared (1856). The writings of Benjamin Franklin, Vol X (1789 – 1790). MacMiillan p. 410.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.
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