Hezekiah received the letter

from the hand of the

                    messengers

and read it,

and Hezekiah went up

   to the house of the LORD

and spread it

           before the LORD...

         2 Kings 19. 14-15

(First response,

         not last resort.

Prayer as our default,

              not panic.

What is in my hands,

before me in this day,

the heavy sack

            I am carrying,

the overwhelming news,

that I need to

     spread before the LORD?

Pray, listen and respond.

Did it even occur to me

   to pray about this?)

O LORD,

We come to You,

not demanding an answer,

but kneeling humbly before You,

to seek Your strength,

to seek Your purposes,

to seek You.

We ask that above all,

   You are glorified

and that in this situation

all will come to know You

          as God alone.

Help us to take root downward

   and bear Your fruit upward.

There is so much more

              at stake in this

than what appears

              on the surface,

even than what is drawing

        the most attention.

Keep our eyes on You,

align our heart with Yours,

grant us Your wisdom

     and Your strength

for Your glory

and the wellbeing

          of many people.