Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.  E.M. Bounds

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 

What do you do with your worries? Do you turn them inward, or turn them upward?

When the brutal Assyrian King Sennacherib was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, he sent a message to King Hezekiah saying that Judah would be no different from all the other nations he had conquered. Hezekiah took this message to the temple in Jerusalem, and “spread it out before the Lord” (Isa. 37:14). He then prayed and asked for help from Almighty God.

Soon afterward Isaiah the prophet delivered this message to Hezekiah from the Lord: “Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken” (Isa. 37:21–22 nlt). Scripture tells us that Hezekiah’s prayer was answered that very night. God intervened miraculously, conquering the enemy forces outside the city gates. The Assyrian army didn’t even “shoot an arrow” (v. 33). Sennacherib would leave Jerusalem, never to return.

Three words in God’s message to Hezekiah—“Because you prayed”—show us the best place to go with our worries. Because Hezekiah turned to God, He rescued him and his people. When we turn our worries into prayer, we discover that God is faithful in unexpected ways!

Father, please help me to turn my worries into prayer. My problems are better in Your hands than in my own.

祷告能摇动那掌管世界的手。

应当一无挂虑，只要凡事藉着祷告、祈求和感谢，将你们所要的告诉上帝。-腓立比书4章6节

遇到忧虑时，你会怎么做？你会将忧虑藏在心底，或是求告上帝呢？

当残酷的亚述王西拿基立预备要摧毁耶路撒冷时，他差使者送书信给犹大王希西家，表示犹大国将和亚述过去所灭的列国一样，被攻陷占领。希西家将书信带进耶路撒冷的圣殿中，“在耶和华面前展开”（以赛亚书37章14节） ，并向全能的上帝祷告，祈求帮助。

不久，先知以赛亚将上帝的话告诉希西家：“耶和华以色列的上帝这样说：‘因为你向我祷告关于亚述王西拿基立的事……’”（以赛亚书37章21-22节，新译本)。圣经告诉我们，希西家的祷告在当晚就蒙应允。上帝奇妙地介入，击败城外的敌军。亚述军队甚至没有向耶路撒冷发射一箭（33节） ，亚述王西拿基立也离开耶路撒冷，而且永远不再返回。

上帝对希西家说:“因为你向我祷告”，让我们知道忧虑时的最佳求助对象。因希西家求告上帝，上帝就拯救他和他的子民。当我们以祷告将忧虑交给上帝，我们就会发现，信实的上帝会以意想不到的方式回应我们。

天父，求祢帮助我，将忧虑化为祷告。
我将问题交在祢手中，远胜过自己担当。

Isaiah 37:9-22New International Version (NIV)

9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a]was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad?Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear,Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[b]”

Sennacherib’s Fall

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter Zion
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head as you flee.

整理：于姊妹