7 Lessons from the Prayer Life of Hezekiah
If we are not careful, fear can become more than just a passing emotion. It can grip our lives and take control of our thoughts and cause us to not trust God.
The enemy likes to use the same tactics over and over to knock us down. Today we’ll look at a man who was in deep distress and how he combatted his fears with prayer.
Prayer is something we will never master. We continually need to be reminded to bring every detail to the Lord, so he can calm our hearts down, reveal his will and be glorified as he works in our lives.
{For those studying the book of 2 Kings – we read chapters 16-20 this week.}
In 2 Kings 19, we finally see a godly king rise up in Judah! Besides King David, King Hezekiah was the most righteous king of Judah. But just because he lived an upright life, did not mean his life was easy – it was quite the contrary. Instead, he was the target of an attack by the King of Assyria. Assyria was a much more powerful nation but it was Hezekiah’s prayer life that saved them from their enemies.
So let’s take a closer look at how this man prayed and learn from him.
7 Lessons from the Prayer Life of Hezekiah
In 2 Kings 18, threats from the King of Assyria came to the people of Judah and they were in such distress that it says the women were at the point of birth but had no strength to actually deliver their babies (2 Kings 19:3). The king’s threats literally scared the women to death! Can you imagine?
Look at the first thing King Hezekiah did when he heard the threats from the King of Assyria:
As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. (2 Kings 19:1)
Lesson 1: When crisis hits, Hezekiah immediately goes to the house of the Lord.
Friends, where do you go when a crisis hits? Are you found in the house of the Lord?
Then God sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah to tell him to not be afraid and assure him that God will save them.
Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’ (2 Kings 19:6,7)
Lesson 2: Hezekiah needed a gentle reminder from God, to not be afraid.
If something is troubling you today, let this be a gentle reminder to you – do not be afraid. God is with you and he will help you.
Then the King of Assyria continued to play on Hezekiah’s fears by sending a threatening letter to him, but Hezekiah knew just what to do with that letter. Look what he did:
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.(2 Kings 19:14)
Lesson 3: Hezekiah knew his only hope was God. He went straight to the house of the Lord and spread the letter out before the Lord.
Often times we spread our problems out before trusted friends, a pastor or a counselor. This is wise but we must not neglect going FIRST to the Lord in prayer and spreading out all the details before him!
Then look at how Hezekiah approached God’s throne in prayer:
And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. (2 Kings 19:15)
Lesson 4: Hezekiah did not go flippantly to the Lord in prayer. He saw God as He is, enthroned above the cherubim, as the one and only, King of heaven and earth.
When you pray, do you ever imagine God in heaven, on his throne? Try addressing God the way Hezekiah did when you pray and see how different the prayer feels. Picture God in all his power and majesty and let the one true God drive out the fear that the enemy is tempting you to feel.
Then Hezekiah told God about the enemy and what he had done.
Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. (2 Kings 16-18)
Lesson 5: Hezekiah did not just want God to hear his own words, but he wanted God to hear the words of his enemy too.
When we pray, we can tell God everything – the entire story of what is happening. God already sees all but there is power in us laying it out before God. As we pray, God gives us clarity and discernment to handle the situation.
And then Hezekiah gave his plea:
So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”(2 Kings 19:19)
Lesson 6: Hezekiah asks God to save them, not for his own glory but for God’s glory.
It is so easy to get caught up in just giving God an itemized list of our prayer requests but we see that Hezekiah didn’t just make a plea for help. His ultimate goal was that everyone would see the hand of God at work and that God would be glorified. This needs to be the heart behind all of our prayers as well.
And then God answered Hezekiah’s prayer:
34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. (2 Kings 19:34-37)
Lesson 7: God took away Hezekiah’s fears by removing the enemy.
What an amazing answer to prayer! God struck down 185,000 Assyrians in the night.
That’s our God!
Our God is above all other Gods.
There is no God like our God.
And this is the God we pray to too!
Friends, if something is troubling you today, remember to not give way to the enemy’s tactic of fear. Instead, go to the Lord in prayer. Imagine God on his throne, as he truly is. Let God remove all of your fear as you lay all the details out before Him. Seek God’s glory in the situation and wait on the Lord.
Trust that God will work things out for your good and his glory.
God loves you!
Walk with the King,
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Thank you for the reminder not to be afraid but to pray and give it to God!
So timely, at a point in my life when everything seems not to be working, but trusting God all the way up. Thank you.
Needed this as this week has been a tough one. Self doubt is over taking my thinking also. Thanks for a great study at the right time.
Courtney thank you for what you do. I truly am loving this morning time bible study. It brings me clarity and learn the bible easier going chapter by chapter. Hezekiah did the right thing by turning to God first. That’s a great reminder for us to always turn to God first. Thank you and God bless you and your family. -Malinda Combs
Thank you for leading us through God’s Word.
Thank you For this lesson . May God bless you.
Sitting alone
I read this story
At a desperate need of help & power
In a lease time of a Southern winter home from the cold
Busy, noisy, no quiet or peace time for the soul
Came here to get away and yet we need to go home to find rest.
We need solace from the storm within.
In our seventies, we need peace for the rest of the journey
We need God like 2 kings
We need to defeat the Enemy
Please pray for us
Praying for you folks in your seventies. Redeemed saints have promises! Just a reminder of Ps. 92:12-15!! “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright; He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Praying this over your lives. God bless you!
Thanks for your enlightenment. We serve a wonderful and powerful God. We put our trust in him, he is going to guided our foot step. AMEN. Proven many Times. BLESSINGS to all.
Dear JoAnn,
My heart is touched for you and I wanted to encourage you by letting you know that I’m praying for eyes and minds to be opened to understand; for joy to fill you as you sing praises to the LORD. I pray for the enemies to be defeated as they were for Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. I pray that the anxiety that wants to rob the peace of God, be melted into peace beyond understanding. I pray that your house and family be filled with the Holy Spirit. Praise our Sovereign God; Who is so Amazing. I pray that nothing is able to take your focus off of Jesus so that your faith is consistently strengthened in the knowledge that there is nothing He can’t do; He sees all and knows our every need, and He loves us with a love that we can’t be separated from. I pray that He covers and carries ya’ll through the end of your journey with more peace and blessings than ever before. In the Name of Jesus Who has been given ALL authority in heaven and on earth. Amen.
Love this!!! Thank you!
Thanks for reminding the living church to seak God first,not to pray for our own sake only,to pray for grolyfication of God at all challenges.
Thanks for reminding the Christian’s that God first,the ears ofGod arelistening to our prayers,we should always not to pray for our own but for the entire church of Christ,we should also learn to pray for grolyfication of God at all time.
It’s a blessing to have someone who can help God’s children with the wisdom that God has given you to help us understand and know Him better and for our best may the good God bless you abundantly.
Dear Courtney,
Thank you for this study of the prayer life of King Hezekiah, it brings with it such deep encouragement.
Just found this forum, was at a point in my life where I needed reassurance and a way forward with my walk with God, so, I walked into a Christian book shop to buy me some good Christian books to read, and after picking about five books, just as I was about to walk to the counter to make payment, my eyes drifted to one of your books and I , haven’t not heard of you before now, know now that God pointed me to that book himself., because since I bought it I have learnt so much from it, I plan to use it as a study note with some of my Friends and neighbors.
God bless you and please keep on doing your best to encourage women all over the world.????
Sorry,
In my earlier post I forgot to mention the title of the book . It is “women living well” What a great book.,! Very insightful and helpful to stay at home Mum like me. I love it.
Now I am hooked and will continue to read more of your books.
Awesomeness! I’m currently studying Hezekiah’s prayers and was looking to see who else did the same. I truly enjoyed this post.
Glory to God .we are reminder to trust in God and he answers our prayer no matter how the situation it is
I thank you for this sermon it has opened my spiritual eyes at first I didn’t understand the prayer after reading this now I know that only God can answer our prayers not our friends
God richly bless you for the message
This was so timely and guided by God himself
Am going through some staff then I though I should seek the Lord. God reminded me of Hezekiah’s prayer then I decide to Google only to find myself to this beautiful teachings I didn’t know about it. God richly bless you am feeling so encouraged
and blessed.
This can only be God ,I am in awe of this God .This spoke to my inner man and l really needed God to just say a word tonight in my life to calm the raging storms, lt was becoming unbearable and the fear was beginning to take its toll on me but thank you Lord for leading me to this site.Fear has no place in my life l will trust you Lord through it all ,you are the only true God who saves,heals,redeem and tonight Lord l believe you will heal my mother and brother .I surrender all to you and lean not on my understanding but all l give it to you .Hear my plea ooh Lord ??????heal them Jehovah Rapha.In the midst of it all l will continually give praises to you Lord,my tower of refuge and strength .
Thank you so much! May God bless you. You have really help me. Thank you
Thank you for the lessons on coping with the enemy while putting all trust in the Living God!
Thank You Almighty God for teaching us about Hezekiah’s trust in You only n You alone. I’m going THROUGH challenges in my body right now n the doctors want to eradicate the enemy first starting by REMOVING through radiation ALL the pains in my bones n joints n then work from there to eradicate the next enemy. I LOVE our God Almighty Amen. N God.bless u n all your ministries. Hallelujah to God Almighty????✝️???
Amen and amen to the almighty God for indeed his mercy endures forever. I have learnt to put God first in my isues for for he only know how to handle, and also to trust him in everything other than people.
For he is not a son of man to lie . Glory to the almighty God ?? thanks for sharing such lessons indeed am blessed
God bless you.
Edifying piece Courtney.
Thanks!