Letters from the evil one—the best response

“Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.”—This Bible text from Isaiah 37: 20 was the foundation for the divine service conducted by Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider on 14 August 2016 in Heilbronn, Southern Germany.

A threefold letter

These words are taken from a prayer with which Hezekiah, the king of Judah, reacted to a military threat from his enemy, the king of Assyria. The latter had sent a letter in which he praised his own victories and mocked God. “Your God will not save you either! You don’t have a chance!” said the Chief Apostle, as he described the message of the letter.

Today too people repeatedly receive such “messages from the evil one”, said the Church leader, referring first to reports of attacks and atrocities from around the world. “Beyond that, we constantly hear news about the victories of the evil one,” he said in reference to the decline of Christendom, for example. And finally there is also the personal experience that “the godless seem to have much more success than believers.”

A threefold prayer

“So how are we supposed to react to such letters?” asked Chief Apostle Schneider, before going on to answer, “Please, let us do as King Hezekiah!” The latter’s first reaction was, “We will not become servants to this foreign king!” And for believers today, this means, “Let us not respond to evil with evil. Let us not lose our trust in the almighty God. Let us act as the Lord Jesus did.”

Above all, Hezekiah responded with prayer: “Actually, there were really three prayers. He prayed, ‘Save us!’ Prophet Isaiah was to pray for those who had been left behind. And he wanted all people to experience that God is the true God.”

The Church leader explained that believers today will also find their help in such a threefold prayer:

• “Dear God, help me grow even deeper roots”—in belief in Jesus Christ as the Redeemer, in love for Jesus Christ, who loved me first, and in the hope of eternal fellowship with Jesus Christ. “That is my prayer for the work of God.”
• “Lord, help us to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and thereby be a help to our fellow human beings in accepting Christ, believing in Him, experiencing Him, and feeling how active He is.”
• “Lord, come soon!” After all, “The kingdom of peace must come before the Last Judgement! Then all people will be able to hear the gospel.”

“These prayers are pleasing to God,” said the Chief Apostle in conclusion. “He will hear and grant them!”