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Hezekiah was always honouring God and the people needed to see that when God is honoured He in turn blesses us. It was a witness to the people. If God had allowed Hezekiah to die before he had an heir to the throne of his own blood, the Davidic line would have been broken.

Hezekiah start by honouring God as in the Lord's prayer we honour Him and give Him praise. It's how we see God and understand him that makes the difference to our faith. As this grows, our faith and belief grow and we see the God of abundance, the God who cares, stepping in and answering prayer.

As a child we go to our parents when we receive good or bad news so that they can hear, see and read if necessary what has been said. I believe Hezekiah laid this letter before the Lord in recognition that He knows all and sees all and he is laying it at His feet in total surrender like he is saying I can't do it but you can. You show me what and how to do what needs to be done. Without You I can do nothing. The principle is "The battle is the Lord's" give it to Him. We need to take all things to God, for His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts. When we do not do this, we ask in our own strength and pride gets in the way of victory.

Because it is to do with our heart attitude. When we praise God with a right attitude, we give out of our love for Him and it will take us into another dimension. A reluctant spirit will hold us back from worship and receiving the blessings of God. In covenant relationship there is a willingness to give to the other i.e. God Possessions are earthly and if we hold on to them it is harder to get deeper into God. Sometimes they may become an idol. The more we give to God, the more we praise Him, the more He will bless us.

As in the Lord's prayer "Our Father", "Abba", Daddy, Hallowed (Holy) is your name. then exalt and praise and give Him honour. Songs: Exalt the Lord our God; He is exalted; I exalt thee; Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

Praise lifts Him up. Acknowledges Him as the only true living God. We exalt God because He is worthy of our praise. He is the God and Creator of heaven and earth and without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. Exaltation connects our spirit with His spirit; creates a longing in our heart to love and know Him more; brings th epresence of the Lord. It is a witness to all who hear and see that we honour a real, living God.

Without blessing God prayers are selfish, self-centred and given out of a sense of duty. God is enthroned on the praises of His people. We can show adoration and love, we can honour and excite Him and make Him happy. He desires surrender, openness, a heart full of thanks and amazement at who He is and without blessings in our prayers, they are empty.

To be so burdened with the sin committed that it's almost crushing and like a heavy weight so we need to come in humility before God. Be truly sorry for sin. The heart needs to be offered up to God as a sacrifice, repentant and in faith. Then God will not overlook it. Isaiah 66:2 says "but to this man I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite heart and tembles at my word." Also Isaiah 57:15 states that God is there to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Why do we resist? We do not like to admit we are wrong. It takes a humble heart to do this.

Yes A pure heart comes when we accept Jesus into our lives and ask forgiveness for all our sins. This is the beginning of Him creating a clean heart or spirit in us. Our part is to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and the shed blood. Then we meditate on the word and know that when we ask anything , believing , in the name of Jesus our prayers shall be heard and answered.

In v.3 David acknowledges his sin and yet in v.5 it's almost like he's making an excuse. Yes not one of us is born without sin but does that mean that we can give in to temptation and ****? I think not, rather it's a time of overcoming through Jesus . We need to acknowledge sin in our life otherwise how can we expect to receive forgiveness. Asking forgiveness has to come from the heart .

Aprayer for pardon has to come from the heart. There has to be a truly repentant spirit, so as we ask God it takes faith, believing that He hears us and answers. Faith is based on the word for "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God". As I just mentioned , faith comes by hearing, reading the word, and understanding the written word of God. It needs to be revelation to our Spirit.

Ultimately, God does not want one to perish, so if our intercession is such that it causes lives to be changed to the glory of God, then this is His primary plan and I don't think it targets His immutability. I guess God can answer any prayer if He wants to but whether He would is a different question. If we come with a heart that says thy will be done then it is going to be in His plan.

When we pray, we pray in faith. The bible says "ask believing and you shall receive". If we don't believe our prayers are going to make a difference, we may as well stop now. God has His plan, but unfortunately, the freedom of choice we have been given sometimes causes us to go the wrong way and even pray incorrectly. God does not enjoy destoying nations and we need to intercede for divine intervention to take place for people to have a change of heart. The belief that our prayers make no difference is quite simply unbelief!

Remind God of His promises and appeal to His mercy and love. Moses reminds God of how He brought the Israelites out of captivity and what would people say if He didn't save them now? God is a righteous God that is true to His word. To pray the promises of God is following the example that Jesus set in the wilderness when he said "It is written......." Quote the written word of God and by faith believe it and it will come to pass. Because we can remind God of what He has said and that He is not a man that He should lie. Knowing the word prepares us for the days that lie ahead e.g. sickness, trouble. finances. When we pray according to the written word of God we know it is His will, for all scripture is inspired to the Holy Spirit.

The Israelites had got Aaron to build a golden calf that became a "god" or "idol" to them in the place of God, and made sacrifices and danced and worshipped before it. God is a righteous and a jealous God and will not accept any idol to be put in placae of Him. The Israilites were choosing to turn their backs on God and follow their own desires. Here we see the people rebelling against God who has delivered them from slavery and wants to bring them into the promised land. He has emotions. He was hurt and angry at their rejection and sin. They were denying Him who had brought them out of darkness into Light. In view of the fact that God originally wanted to bring His kingdom to earth "as it is in heaven" I believe He was justified. As in the days of Noah, the flood wiped out mankind to give a fresh start so to speak, so God was probably thinking of wiping out all who were sinning and raising up a new generation that would follow Him and bring His kingdom to earth.

Abraham's persistence is shown in that he kept asking for God's mercy over and over again to see the righteous protected. We need to persist in prayer for as we see in Daniel's prayer, he prayed for 21 days before the answer came because there was war in the heavenlies trying to stop his prayers getting through to the throne room of God. Praying through is not easy. It takes persistence, hearing the voice of God and pressing in. As in Daniel's case it often takes days, weeks, or longer till breakthrough comes, and then there is rejoicing.

Yes, I believe God was pleased. He saw Abraham cared enough to help his family to safety. He also recognised Abraham's faith in this intercessory prayer. God delights in our prayers firstly because we are His children and He is our "Daddy" . If we pray according to His will He will hear us and answer us. It also shows that we are dependent on Him and can do nothing of ourselves.

He asked the Lord not to be angry but to listen to what he had so say. We are told to come boldly before the throne of God, but at the same time we need to honour and give glory and respect to the Creator Himself. There needs to be an understanding of the power of God and humble ourselves before Him

That He cannot destroy the righteous with or alongside the sicked. Abraham's nephew, Lot, was in the city and his family and Abraham felt responsible for them. God will not tolerate sin. He is a rigteous judge and just.

So that we can come into God's presence in our robe of righteousness, guilt free, before His throne. Sin will keep us out of His presence. Unforgiverness is sin and becomes a blodkage. God is love and gives eternal life. If we are disobedient to God's word, how can He bless us or forgive us. He looks for a heart that's been washed in the blood of Jesus and knows what genuine forgiveness is. It is very hard sometimes to forgive as the Father forgives, but He will help us for He knows our heart.

Pride and a sense of lowering our self-esteem. We like our independence and want to do things ourself. Asking God for "daily bread" is all inclusive of all our needs. We need to humble ourselves before our God and honour Him and recognise that He is the Creator and without Him we would have nothing, so it is a way of honouring Him and His word which says "He shall supply all our needs." He said we shall not lack anything . So it is a trusting and a time of obeying His word.

We are asking for the needs of others to be met before asking for ourselves. Others need Christ in their lives they need to experience the power of God in their lives meeting the spiritual, physical, emotional, financial needs. Kingdom living can and will provide all this and more. This is when prison doors are open, chains fall off, captives are set free. Jesus comes into their lives and they start to experience kingdom living . God said He would not have one to perish. How can this come to pass if we who know our God do not pray for them. I believe as we start to concentrate more on seeing the lives of others changed, that our own lives will be affected. We will be changed because we are praying according to His will and purpose. I say "let Thy kingdom come and be on earth just as our Father planned it to be. Let's get out of our selfish ways and be vessels ready for the Master's purposes."

I believe we "hallow" the name of our Father by acknowledging Him daily as Lord and Saviour and that God really is "Abba" Father, the only true living God. Giving Him the glory for big and small and not taking praise for myself. What desecrates and besmirches it? When people deny there is a God - A fool says in his heart there is no God. When His name is taken as a swear word and used in vain. How should we "hallow" the Father when we begin to pray? To "hallow" our Father when we pary is to give Him all the glory and honour. To praise and worship Him for who He is and what He has done. He is our Creator. What beauty surrounds us. How intricately we are made.