We are to lay them out before God, as we can do by praying about them.
Hezekiah's trouble was great. His kingdom could be crushed like an
eggshell by the grasp of Sennacherib's hand. But little troubles as
well as great ones are best dealt with by being 'spread before the
Lord.' Whatever is important enough to disturb me is important enough
for me to speak to God about it. Whether the poison inflaming our blood
be from a gnat's bite, or a cobra's sting, the best antidote is--pray
about it.
How much more real and fervid our prayers would be, if we habitually
turned all our affairs into materials for petition! That is a very
empty dispute as to whether we ought to pray for deliverance from
outward sorrows. If we are living in touch with God, we cannot but take
Him into our confidence, if we may so say, as to everything that
affects us. And we should as soon think of hiding any matter from our
dearest on earth as from our Friend in heaven. 'In _everything_, by
prayer and supplication' is the commandment, and will be the instinct
of the devout heart.
Note Hezekiah's assurance that God cares about him.
Note his clear perception that God is his only help.
Note his identification of his own deliverance with God's honour. We
cannot identify our welfare, or deliverance in small matters, with
God's fair fame, in such a fashion. But we ought to be quite sure that
He will not let us sink or perish, and will never desert us. And we can
be quite sure that, if we identify ourselves and our work with Him, He
will identify Himself with us and it. His treatment of His servants
will tell the world (and not one world only) what He is, how faithful,
how loving, how strong.