Hezekiah's Prayer

Hezekiah was king of Judah during a troubled time. A very troubled time. 

Sennacherib, the powerful Assyrian king, had forcefully overtaken most of Judah, crushing everything and everyone in his path. And his mighty army now was standing at Jerusalem's gates. Threats had been issued for all to hear and the people feared greatly. Hezekiah had torn his clothes, donned burlap, and sought the Word of the Lord through Isaiah, His prophet. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Nonetheless, the Assyrian king's messenger comes once again with a letter calling for surrender, or destruction would be upon them. "Don't let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises..." Oh, the Assyrian king was most crafty and his army was indeed formidable. This is fear-mongering at its worst.

Upon hearing the message, Hezekiah did the right thing, turning once again to God. He went to the temple, and laying the letter out before God, he prays.

"O LORD of Heaven's Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim!    You  alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth." Isaiah 37:16

Wow! That prayer! Did you hear that? Do you comprehend what Hezekiah understood? He knew who his God was. He knew he had access to THE LORD OF HEAVEN'S ARMIES!!! This is the God who is seated on the throne between the mighty cherubim! A HOST is His to command. His chariots are tens of thousands, thousands of thousands. He has 200 million mounted troops!

Oh, how I needed to hear that today, to be reminded that HE is the one that I, too, serve. HE is the very same GOD I have access to through Jesus. 

Sickness, spiritual deception, wanton disregard for His order and design, slander and harmful words, disunity within the ranks, egregious sin and blatant rebellion. All of this and more can overwhelm me. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I will humbly bring this to God, the Lord of Heaven's Armies. I will lay out the charges before Him and pray. 

These other kings and messengers are false. All those who trust in idols will come to nothing. HE alone is Lord of All. 

Who are you trusting? Who are you bowing before? 

If you have accepted Jesus' Lordship in your life, you have full access to the Lord Almighty. Bow to Him alone. Every concern, every fear, every threat levied against you is nothing. He has thousands of thousands and He will rescue you. 

Hezekiah's story continues. God promised help and God answers his prayer. 

That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. Isaiah 37:36, 37

Oh, Lord, our God, come save, rescue, and deliver. Amen.