There is something about desperate praying. And I do not mean prayer motivated by fear. I mean that we become so serious about finding God that we block out everyone and everything else in our pursuit of His intervention.
God said in Jeremiah 29:13–14,
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity.
Now this promise was written to the Israelites in Babylonian captivity. But in principle, it’s true for believers of every generation—and a similar promise is reiterated again and again in different circumstances throughout Scripture.
I remember one season, many years ago when an acquaintance of mine was having some physical issues, so he went into the doctor. They did a whole battery of tests and x-rays.
The doctor called him in and said, “Look here’s the issue. You’ve got this spot on your lung. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what that is—it’s very serious. It’s not something that you have to deal with today, but we need to come up with a plan to deal with this thing, procedurally. Otherwise you’re going to be in a world of hurt in a pretty short time.”
He went home, talked to his wife, kissed her, and went into a bedroom. He called his secretary and canceled every appointment and speaking engagement he had. He was a young man with a young family. At that time, his ministry was really getting traction—but he just canceled everything. He did not come out of the room for three days.
He spent those three days pacing the floor, worshiping God, praying, laying on his face, and reading the Scriptures. In particular, he read, re-read, and prayed aloud the promises of healing. When he came out of that room, he had an assurance in his spirit that he had his answer. He knew that he was healed.
He asked the doctor to do a whole new set of x-rays. They did it, and again ran a battery of tests. Every x-ray was clean. The spot was gone. All of the tests were clear.
Hebrews 11:6 says, God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” Another translation says, God is “a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.”
King Hezekiah was sick and near death. Isaiah the prophet, told him to get his house in order, for he was going to die and not recover.
In response, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed. In essence, he was turning away from human help, and looking to God alone.
As Isaiah was leaving, God told him to return to Hezekiah, saying, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears and I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:1-5).
There are times when we must “turn and face the wall” when we pray. In other words, we must look away from human opinion, human predictions, and every other voice, and look to God alone. Desperate prayers can bring dramatic answers.
When it feels like all is lost, we need to reach out in faith by seeking God with all of our hearts and all of our souls. Healing in our lives and revival in our nation is going to take God stepping down with His mighty presence to change things. God’s Spirit can do that, but we need to pray desperate prayers that depend wholly on His promises.
And when we do that, He will meet us.
