Topical Bible: Natural Life: Sometimes Prolonged, in Answer to Prayer

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The concept of natural life being prolonged in response to prayer is a theme that appears in various instances throughout the Bible. This notion underscores the belief in God's sovereignty over life and death, and His responsiveness to the earnest prayers of His people. The extension of life as a divine response to prayer is seen as a testament to God's mercy and power.

Hezekiah's Life Extended

One of the most notable examples of life being prolonged in answer to prayer is found in the account of King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 20:1-6, Hezekiah falls ill, and the prophet Isaiah informs him that he will not recover. In response, Hezekiah prays earnestly to the Lord, reminding God of his faithfulness and wholehearted devotion. The Lord hears Hezekiah's prayer and sees his tears, and He sends Isaiah back to tell the king, "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD. And I will add fifteen years to your life" (2 Kings 20:5-6). This passage highlights the power of sincere prayer and God's willingness to intervene in the natural course of life.

Job's Restoration

The account of Job also reflects the theme of life being prolonged and restored through divine intervention. Although not a direct result of prayer for extended life, Job's narrative illustrates God's ability to restore and bless abundantly after a period of suffering. After Job's trials and his steadfast faith, God restores his fortunes and grants him a long life. "After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation" (Job 42:16). This restoration can be seen as a divine response to Job's faithfulness and the intercessory prayers of his friends, as instructed by God.

Moses' Intercession for Israel

In the wilderness, the Israelites often faced the threat of divine judgment due to their disobedience. On several occasions, Moses interceded on their behalf, and God relented from bringing immediate destruction. In Numbers 14:11-20, when God considers striking the Israelites with a plague, Moses prays for mercy, appealing to God's character and promises. The Lord responds, "I have pardoned them as you requested" (Numbers 14:20). While this instance does not directly prolong an individual's life, it demonstrates the power of intercessory prayer in preserving the lives of many.

David's Plea for His Child

In 2 Samuel 12:15-23, after David's sin with Bathsheba, the child born to them becomes ill. David pleads with God for the child's life, fasting and praying. Although the child ultimately dies, this account shows David's belief in the possibility of life being prolonged through prayer. It also reflects the understanding that while God is compassionate, His will is ultimately sovereign.

Principles of Prayer and Divine Will

These biblical accounts illustrate that while God is responsive to prayer, the prolongation of life is ultimately subject to His divine will and purpose. The Bible encourages believers to pray with faith and sincerity, trusting in God's wisdom and timing. James 5:16 affirms, "The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail." This assurance encourages believers to seek God earnestly, knowing that He is attentive to the prayers of His people and capable of altering the course of natural life according to His perfect plan.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 38:2-5
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

James 5:15
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Timeliness of Prayer
... it does so in the trivialities associated sometimes with the ... for the peace-bred levity
of the natural man ... the powerful factor it is in Christian life and history ...
/.../forsyth/the soul of prayer/chapter iv the timeliness of.htm

Prayer Perfumed with Praise
... we must also thank the Lord that the dear life has been ... Sometimes we are not in a
fit state to receive a ... said his minister, "and that is the natural result of ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 25 1879/prayer perfumed with praise.htm

Eternal Life.
... Growth in grace is sometimes described as a strange ... It proceeds according to Natural
Law, and the leading ... have become adapted to a terrestrial mode of life. ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/eternal life.htm

Introduction
... quodammodo sortitus est."[27] And the natural corollary of ... than if he spend his whole
life studying the ... The reader will sometimes feel inclined to smile at the ...
/.../aquinas/on prayer and the contemplative life/introduction.htm

The Latest Improved.
... It is natural for us to avoid hardship and ... Sometimes people allow a tried, mean,
impatient feeling to ... to be intemperate in these is to destroy spiritual life. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/how to live a holy life/the latest improved.htm

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
... And this is life everlasting, that they may know ... obey God by reason of the natural
instinct by ... S. Augustine: Sometimes, indeed, through immoderate fear of this ...
/.../aquinas/on prayer and the contemplative life/question lxxxiii of prayer.htm

Life.
... from him who is our life, as the natural, simple cure ... even now to the holy fancy
it may sometimes seem too ... support"as if we must die of very life"of more ...
//christianbookshelf.org/macdonald/unspoken sermons/life.htm

A Prophet's Strange Providers
... God makes us sometimes wait on beside a diminishing rivulet ... The natural interpretation
of verse 9 is that, at the ... when she sheltered the man whose life was, at ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/a prophets strange providers.htm

The Preacher as an Apostle.
... of motive are, as I have said, natural; this one ... Sometimes he lets the prayer which
he has been offering slip ... brink of the great temptation of his life, and on ...
/.../stalker/the preacher and his models/lecture viii the preacher as.htm

The Life of Cassian.
... The theory which has sometimes been advocated"that he received it at ... to a close his
literary labours and his life in the ... [620] It is only natural that this ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter i the life of.htm