我朋友明莉與丈夫到她叔叔家吃晚餐，而明莉的嬸嬸最近被診斷出罹患了侵襲性的癌症。在開始吃飯前，叔叔詢問大家：「有人想說點什麼嗎？」明莉露出微笑，因她曉得叔叔的意思是：「有人想要禱告嗎？」雖然叔叔並不相信耶穌，但他知道明莉是基督徒，所以用這種方式邀請明莉禱告。於是，明莉發自內心地感謝上帝，感謝祂的眷顧，並祈求上帝在嬸嬸身上施行神蹟。

當猶大王希西家患了重病，先知以賽亞說他不久於人世（以賽亞書38章1節）之後，希西家便向上帝吐露心聲。他「痛哭」哀求說：「耶和華啊，求祢記念我在祢面前怎樣存完全的心，按誠實行事，又做祢眼中所看為善的」（3節）。希西家真誠迫切地懇求上帝醫治他。雖然得醫治並非依賴我們的善行，上帝也不一定會施行醫治，但祂使希西家的壽命延長15年（5節）。希西家痊癒後，便作詩感謝讚美上帝（9-20節）。

上帝邀請我們向祂禱告，我們可以為迫切的需要禱告，也可以為各樣大小事感謝祂。上帝垂聽我們的禱告，看見我們的眼淚，並會按照祂的計劃回應我們。我們要做的是「謹慎地度[我們]所有的年日」（15節，新譯本）。

My friend Christine and her husband sat down to dinner at their aunt and uncle’s house. Her aunt had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Before anyone started to eat, her uncle asked, “Does anyone have anything to say?” Christine smiled because she knew he meant, “Does anyone want to pray?” He wasn’t a believer in Jesus, but he knew Christine was, so this was his way to invite prayer. Speaking from her heart, she gave thanks to God for His care and requested that He would perform a miracle for her aunt.

King Hezekiah became ill and had something on his heart to say to God after the prophet Isaiah told him he was going to die (Isaiah 38:1). He “wept bitterly” and pleaded, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion” (v. 3). His was an honest, desperate appeal for deliverance. Even though healing isn’t dependent on our “goodness,” and God doesn’t always heal, He chose to extend the king’s life by fifteen years (v. 5). After his recovery, Hezekiah thanked and praised Him (v. 16).

God invites us to pray—whether it’s for an urgent need or to thank Him for something small or significant. He hears our prayers, sees our tears, and will answer according to His plan. Our place is to “walk humbly all [our] years” with Him (v. 15).