Philippians 4:6 – Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. (TLB)

2 Kings 19:14 – 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. (NIV)

Matthew 7:7 – Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. (NASB)

Often when I have a problem, I worry about it until I'm at my wit's end. Then when all else fails, I pray. Now, why did I waste all this time and energy? It is so plainly written out in all of today's Scriptures, which I've read many times, but when trouble comes, I find myself following the same old pattern. Instead of taking my problem to God first, I attempt to solve it myself. Even after years of answered prayer, there's still a tendency to drag my feet.

Hezekiah gives us a good example to follow. In 2 Kings chapter 19, he received a letter from a messenger of the King of Assyria, challenging him to surrender Jerusalem or be destroyed. When Hezekiah read it, he went to the house of the Lord and prayed, asking the Lord to save Jerusalem. Through the prophet Isaiah, God had already promised deliverance. Hezekiah followed instructions. His prayer was answered. Instead of worrying, Hezekiah saved his energy by turning to God first.

Like Hezekiah, we, too, can turn to God first and ask, rather than wasting all our time and energy in worrying about the situation.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to follow Your instructions and ask in prayer for what we need, rather than wasting our time and energy in useless worry. Give us the faith to believe in Your Word, to believe that we, too, can receive answers to our prayers, if only we turn to You first, and like Hezekiah, spread out our requests before You. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

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