The prophet tells the king he can ask for anything he wants from God. You would think he would have jumped at the offer. But, no. Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” The problem, Ahaz knew, that when you put yourselves in God’s hands you have to trust where God will take you. Ahaz had his own plans on how things should go and was not willing to give them up even if it meant forfeiting divine assistance. In our lives when we make petition of God there is an underlying presumption that God will do what we ask. Instead we must model our prayer after that of Jesus in Gethsemane. We make intercession as Jesus did because that demonstrates our confidence in God’s benevolent care. But we always append to our petitions the words of Jesus: “But not my will, but thine be done.”
