Formulaic Process of Renewal – Holy Discontentment + Preparation (in secret) + Contending (in prayer) + Holy patterns + Remnant = A Region Renewed in the Spirit of God
2 Kings 18:1–6 2
Kings 20:1–10
What Defines a Life of Contending Prayer
- Hezekiah’s first response when he is faced with discouraging news. “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” (20:3) Meaning, to develop a life of response from Heaven, I must produce these characteristics as a descriptor of who I am: someone who is walking with God in truthfulness, giving Him the whole of my heart, and knowing from this place I will produce good in His sight.
- How deep does prayer really go for you? Contending prayer is a prayer that fights, wrestles, and grapples for the revelation of God in the areas I’m seeking Him. God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer? “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.” (20:5) God hearing prayers and seeing tears are two different things. Communication with no emotion is not healthy communication. Prayer with the depths of our souls comes out in the weeping bitterly and the praying pointedly, that then turns the Father heart towards His children. We contend in righteous awareness, vulnerability, and transparency, and the Spirit will respond. Be real, be raw, or don’t be anything.
- Contending prayer doesn’t just believe for messages. It demands signs and miracles. “Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me?’” (20:8) Abnormality is embraced and even expected when we enter into a deeper understanding of what contending prayer is supposed to produce. Hezekiah shifted the shadows of the sun to confirm a word from a prophet. What ways do you need to shift your mindset to start to expect that God wants to reveal signs of His goodness, grace, and miraculous power in your everyday walk with Him?
