Breaking the Hezekiah Syndrome: Praying for Future Generations
- Description
- Transcript
In this powerful message, Tom Terry reflects on the biblical story of King Hezekiah and the importance of having a vision beyond the present moment. He challenges us to reject the "Hezekiah Syndrome"—a short-sighted focus on peace in our own time—and instead embrace a long-term spiritual legacy. Tom shares his personal commitment to praying for his children, grandchildren, and future descendants, trusting that God can move through those prayers even beyond his lifetime. Be inspired to think generationally and cultivate a faith that echoes through time.
Tom Terry:
I think God wants us to think of the future. And so what I pray for now is I pray there will never be a generation of my family that doesn't know the Lord.
When Hezekiah was king, the Scripture says that Isaiah the prophet came to him and said to him, “Someday, your very own descendants are gonna serve as eunuchs in the court of Babylon.” Hezekiah's response was, “The word that you have spoken is good because there will be peace and safety in my day.” Hezekiah, for all the great king that he was, he had a very narrow vision about his kingdom. And that's kind of a tragedy 'cause he was only focused on the now. He wasn't focused on the future of his kingdom, what he was building up for the future.
And I want the reverse to be true in my own life – that I look toward the future for my kids, my grandkids, and their descendants. It doesn't mean that all 100% of them are gonna come to Christ, but it does mean that I want a testimony about who Christ is to be prevalent in our lives for however many generations that may go.
So it's all about that next generation. I don't want to have that, like, I like to term it the Hezekiah Syndrome. I don't want to be focused just on now. I wanna be focused on what God wants for the future.
And so that's why I continue to pray for my adult kids. That's why I pray for my grandkids. That's why I pray for my descendants. 'Cause you never know what God will do there. I literally don't know and will not know until heaven, you know, what God may do, but perhaps God will work through my prayers, just like Job prayed for his kids all the time. Perhaps they had sinned and cursed God in their hearts, so he offered sacrifice for them even though he didn't really know if that was true or not, but he didn't take the chance.
And so I would say don't take the chance with your family or descendants. Pray for them regularly all the time. And then make sure that you have an honorable testimony that you could show them that would motivate them hopefully for their very own future, so that every generation of our family can come to know Christ.
And that's what I hope for the most of all.
