When Crises Confront Us—Unexpected, Desperate, Traumatic, Or Tragic Situations—
We Have At Our
Disposal A Powerful Resource: Prayer.
Hezekiah’s Desperate
Prayer For Deliverance:
Seeking The Lord For Help
14As soon as King Hezekiah had read this letter, he went over to the Temple and spread it out before the Lord 15and prayed, saying, 16-17“O Lord, Almighty God of Israel enthroned between the Guardian Angels, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone made heaven and earth. Listen as I plead; see me as I pray. Look at this letter from King Sennacherib, for he has mocked the living God. 18It is true, O Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all those nations, just as the letter says, 19and thrown their gods into the fire; for they weren’t gods at all but merely idols, carved by men from wood and stone. Of course, the Assyrians could destroy them. 20O Lord our God, save us so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are God, and you alone.”[1] (Isaiah37:14–20)
Hezekiah’s Desperate Prayer For Deliverance: Seeking The Lord For Help
In response to the second message from the Assyrian king, Hezekiah again took his desperate situation to the Lord in prayer. But this time he did not seek the Lord’s word through Isaiah the prophet. Under intense pressure and strain, he went directly to the Lord in prayer.
a. Once again, Hezekiah went up to the temple and humbled himself as a child before the Lord (v. 14). Spreading out the letter from the Assyrian king, he laid it before the Lord and began to pour out his soul, crying for deliverance. Note that he offered up a threefold prayer.
b. First, Hezekiah declared God’s greatness (v. 16). Addressing the Lord as the God of Israel who is enthroned between the cherubim of the Ark, Hezekiah acknowledged that the Lord alone is God over all the kingdoms of the earth. He alone is the Supreme Creator who has made heaven and earth.
c. Second, Hezekiah explained the problem confronting him and the Judeans (vv. 17–19). Yet note Hezekiah’s major concern, what he stressed first: the insults launched against the Lord by the Assyrians. He pleaded for the Lord to open His eyes, to notice how the Assyrian king Sennacherib had insulted the living God. He then acknowledged the power and conquests of Assyria, and how they had destroyed nation after nation. Hezekiah next declared a significant truth: the false gods of the conquered nations could not have saved them, for they were only lifeless, powerless idols made by men’s hands (v. 19).
d. Third, Hezekiah cried out for the Lord God to deliver him and his people from the hand of the Assyrians. But note why: that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that the Lord alone is God (v. 20).
Thought 1. When crises confront us—unexpected, desperate, traumatic, or tragic situations—we have at our disposal a powerful resource: prayer. We have access into the very presence of the living God Himself. The door into God’s presence is always open, and God is always available to help us—whether by miraculous deliverance or an infusion of strength to walk through the crisis. He will lead, guide, and strengthen us to deal with any difficult problem, even through the crisis of death itself. Prayer, seeking and calling upon the Name of the Lord, is always available to us. This is the reason the Lord has established prayer as the most powerful law throughout the universe. Through the law of prayer, God operates and moves to meet the needs of His people. Listen to what the Word of God says about prayer and seeking His face for help:
V “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever
ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”
(Mk. 11:24).
V “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Lu. 11:10).
V “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn. 15:7).
V “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name:
ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:24).
V “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is
any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord” (Js. 5:13–14).
V “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him,
because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his
sight” (1 Jn. 3:22).
V “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord
thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou
seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (De. 4:29).
V “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his
face continually” (1 Chr. 16:11).
V “If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land” (2 Chr. 7:14).
V “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by
night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day” (Ps. 91:5).
V “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his
face evermore” (Ps. 105:4).
V “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call
ye upon him while he is near” (Is.
55:6).
V “And it shall come to pass, that before they
call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Is. 65:24).
V “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all
your heart” (Je. 29:13).
V “For thus saith the Lord unto the house of
Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live” (Am. 5:4).
V “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth,
which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be
ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zep. 2:3).[2]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.37.NLT
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