Read Isaiah 37

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD…” (Isaiah 37:14–15)

It’s hard for us to fathom the anguish Hezekiah was under. The mighty and unstoppable Assyrian nation was on the verge of conquering Judah. They had already taken captive the 10 northern tribes of Israel, along with their king, and now evil Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had his sights set on the southern tribes of Judah who were under the reign of Hezekiah.

What was Hezekiah to do? The Assyrians were knocking on the front door! Death was certain! He did not have enough manpower to stop them, yet to surrender meant exile into a savage land. He had also received a taunting letter full of discouragement, which read: “Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?” (Isaiah 37:11)

Note those words: Shall you be delivered? Ah — our enemy Satan uses those same taunting words to cripple us and freeze us up! But we must not listen. We must do as Hezekiah did. Go to the LORD, spread out your circumstance before Him, and pray. Pray!

Hezekiah, no doubt, had counselors and wisemen at his disposal. He could have been strategizing and preparing for war. He might have even selfishly sought his own safety in a hidden stronghold or make a backdoor deal to secure his life. But this is not what he does. Trusting God in prayer is the only answer for a righteous man!

The distressed king prayed, saying —

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth… 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, You alone.” (Isaiah 37:16, 20)

Little did Hezekiah know just how effective his prayer would be, for in one night an Angel of the LORD went out among the Assyrian army and struck down 185,000 troops! — and the Assyrians fled back home (see Isaiah 37:36-37; 2 Kings 19:35-36). God supernaturally saved Judah that day with a mighty hand because Hezekiah trusted God in prayer.

“…Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria…” (Isaiah 37:21)

Oh the power of prayer!

Beloved, if only we knew how potent and pleasing it was to God we might be inclined to rely on it more for every need in life. If we could only see how much it worked for our benefit we might altogether skip counselors and spread out our requests before the King the kings, as Hezekiah did.

What of your life, friend? Will you go up to the throne of grace today and make your requests known to God? (see Philippians 4:6; 1 John 5:15)

“…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

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