Hezekiah was a descendant of David, which means he was an ancestor of Christ. While many of the men who sat on Judah’s throne following David struggled to serve the Lord the way that David did, Hezekiah, the 13th in the line of succession, was a Godly man.
Perhaps the most serious case of adversity that Hezekiah encountered involved a group of kings who decided to come against him. However, Hezekiah’s decision to handle the issue through prayer instead of trying to tackle the issue on his own provides us with a powerful example of what God can do when we ask Him to handle situations that are simply too big for us.
Pray These Verses
2 Kings 19:14-19 (NIV)
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:
“Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words of Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”
The first thing that Hezekiah did was to seek God. When faced with threats from Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who led the ungodly coalition of other nations, Hezekiah took the letter to the temple, laid it down on the altar, and prayed about it. We often approach prayer as a “last ditch effort,” when it should be our first move when faced with adversity.
Once he began to pray, Hezekiah spent some time reflecting on who God was and the things that God had already done. This wasn’t an attempt to remind God of His past victories.
That would be an exercise in futility. Instead, one of the most important things that we can do when we deal with spiritual warfare is to remind ourselves of the goodness of God that we have already seen in our own lives. This stirs up the faith inside us so we can better face the conflict ahead of us.
Finally, we must remember that the seasons of adversity that we face provide a glorious opportunity for God to be glorified. When you read verse 19 from the passage we just looked at, you will notice that Hezekiah asks for God’s deliverance “so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”
Hezekiah didn’t want to be murdered, and he didn’t want the people of Judah to be destroyed. However, he didn’t pray for these things because he wanted to become a more famous king. He wasn’t worried about building his own resume like Sennacherib was. Instead, Hezekiah wanted to use his story for God’s glory.
With these things in mind, let’s go to God in prayer about the things that you’re facing. You will quickly see that He is as eager to work in your life as He was to work in the life of Hezekiah.
Pray This Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the same way that Hezekiah felt outnumbered, I feel like I am no match for the things that I’m fighting against. These troubles are simply too big for me, too numerous for me to even count.
Today, I lay them all down before You. I know that I am not equipped to handle these things, but I also know that there is nothing that is too big for You. Father, I have seen Your mighty works before. I have seen You heal, protect, and provide for Your people firsthand, and I know that You are the same God that You were then.
Father, deliver me from the trials and tribulations that I’m facing. Protect me and give me victory over these things so the people around me will see that You still work in the lives of Your people, and You will be glorified. In Christ’s name, Amen.
2 Kings 19:33-36 (NIV)
“By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord. “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning-there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
After Hezekiah prayed the prayer that you just prayed over your own life, God started making promises to him. First, God promised that Sennacherib would never even get into the city of Judah.
Furthermore, God declared that He would defend the city and save it. Hezekiah hadn’t seen anything happen, but he had faith that if God promised to defend the city, that’s exactly what He would do.
Hezekiah and his army were outmanned in a battle with the troops from Assyria. That’s why God never even had Hezekiah go to the battlefield. Instead, the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops.
When Sennacherib woke up the next morning and realized that his army had been destroyed, he closed the camp and went back home. Everything worked out exactly the way that God said it would.
Today, thank God for the victory that you’re going to see in your own life. Even if it feels like you’re outnumbered right now, rejoice in the fact that the same God who protected Hezekiah and defended the city of Judah is defending you. He has never been defeated, and you won’t be either.
Praise God
Heavenly Father, thank You for being a Defender of Your people. Thank You for fighting the battles that are too big for me. Thank You for the promises in Your Word, and for being faithful to keep them.
I submit this battle to You, and I do so with confidence. The same God who defended Hezekiah is defending me. Thank You for Your unchanging nature. In Christ’s name, Amen.