Hezekiah's prayer

     “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’” (Isaiah 37:6-7)

     In chapters 36 and 37 of Isaiah’s book, we read a story of one of the great kings of Judah. He was not a perfect king, nor even the most famous king of Israel or Judah, but in this crisis, he demonstrated exactly the actions you and I should take if we encounter a problem or crisis we cannot handle.

  The city of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, was surrounded by the army of Assyria. This army had destroyed the armies and enslaved the people of countless countries under the leadership of Sennacherib, their king, to include the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Now they demanded the submission of Jerusalem or they would destroy the city and all its inhabitants. They had even come to the city walls and boasted that the God of Judah could not protect them any more than the false gods of the nations they had already destroyed had been able to save them. The situation was hopeless for Judah. Hezekiah knew that without God’s help they stood no chance against this powerful enemy who had already cut them off from their food and water supplies.

   Hezekiah tore his clothes, covered himself in sackcloth, and went into the House of the Lord and here is what he said as he prayed:

    “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherubim, You are God, even You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which has sent reproach to the living God. Truely, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their lands, and have cast their gods into fire; for they were not gods, but  the work of men’s hands--wood and stone; therefore they destroyed them. 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, even You alone.” (Isaiah 37:16-20)

    Then the prophet Isaiah came to Hezekiah and gave him the answer from the Lord God:

    “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. Because of your rage against Me, and your tumult, have come to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, says the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake. (Isaiah 37:23,29,33-35)

   Then the rest of the chapter tells us how the angel of the Lord went through the enemy’s camp and killed one hundred and eighty five thousand of the Assyrian army and caused the remainder to return to Neneveh, their capital. Also, Sennacherib himself was killed by two of his sons a short time later as he was worshiping in the house of his god, Nisroch. (Read all of chapters 36 and 37 to get the complete story!)

    What crisis are you facing right now? Who is the only one who can deliver you from the enemies or problems that you face? Yes! You are right! It is only Jesus who can turn back the enemy. It is only Jesus who will carry you through the Red Sea or deliver you from the fiery furnace. 

Pray

1.     Lord deliver me from the sins that I cannot handle on my own. I cry out to you and ask you to work a mighty work in me that I might be used by You for Your purposes.

2.     Help me to remember today that I belong to You. I have been bought and paid for by Your precious blood shed on Calvary.

3.     Help me today to search my heart for someone I should be praying for who is going through a fiery trial and needs me to intercede for them and to encourage them