After first being verbally threatened, then receiving a letter of even more demeaning and diabolical plans (from the King of Assyria) … godly King Hezekiah of Judah simply prayed!

He turned all his problems over to the Lord!

Read with me: “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah PRAYED unto the LORD, saying, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent TO REPROACH the living God.” Isaiah 37:14-17 (I personally love that expression, “spread it before the Lord.”As in “Tell it to Jesus!”)

By the way, that last verb “reproach” means “to taunt, upbraid, blaspheme!” Once in the King James Version, “to put in jeopardy!” (Judges 5:18)

Talk about obeying 1 Peter 5:7, before it was ever written! “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

But after “sharing” with the Lord all these troubles … Hezekiah (properly) asks for something! Here “lament” becomes “petition.”

Verse 20: “Now therefore, O LORD our God, SAVE US from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.” Note that key verb “save!”

Save us, not just for our sakes … but Lord, for Thy name’s Sake too!

That’s good praying!

What an example this King left us.

And, as we shall learn tomorrow … GOD DID ANSWER THE KING’S PRAYER! Dramatically so!

After all, this is the Lord who has invited us to … “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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