Praying At The CrossroadsSample

The Prayer of Hezekiah  

In 2 Kings 18–19 we learn about a man named Hezekiah, who at twenty-five years of age became the king of Judah.1 He was one of Israel’s better kings. Chapter 18 provides his résumé. 

• He did what was right in the Lord’s sight (see v. 3).
• He uprooted kingdomwide idolatry (see v. 4).
• He trusted in the Lord and held fast to him (see vv. 5-6).
• He was accomplished on the battlefield (see vv. 7-8). 

Even a man this highly regarded in Scripture faced a menacing terror, namely the Assyrian Empire.

The remainder of chapter 18 (see vv. 9-37) introduces us to the Assyrians, who were the biggest bullies on the block during Hezekiah’s day. They were known for a policy of frightfulness. Assyria brutalized, terrorized, and tormented other nations. Often they impaled victims as a means of psychological warfare. The biblical account is supported by historical documents that depict the Assyrians as “an aggressive, murderously vindictive regime supported by a magnificent and successful war machine.”2 So understandably, Hezekiah was shaken when this empire set its sights on Judah. 

Under King Shalmaneser, Hezekiah watched Assyria defeat and deport his brothers, the Northern Kingdom of Israel (see 2 Kings 18:9-12). Now under a new bully, Sennacherib, Hezekiah and the Southern Kingdom were under attack (see v. 13). 

Hezekiah didn’t pray immediately, but after an unsuccessful attempt at “Let’s make a deal,” he pivoted from bargaining to bowing. In chapter 19 Hezekiah stopped trying to pay his way out and decided to pray his way out. His prayer is recorded in 2 Kings 19:15-19, and verses 35-37 demonstrate that his prayer was successful. What his plotting and persuading didn’t accomplish, his prayer did. Assyria retreated, and Sennacherib was killed through a divine booby trap in response to Hezekiah’s prayer.

When the Reformer Martin Luther wrote “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” he wrote of the “ancient foe” being defeated by “one little word.” One word of prayer is certainly effective enough to “fell him.”3 The Lord fights our battles for us and welcomes us to call on Him in times of trouble. We aren’t sufficient on our own, but the Lord Jesus has already won the battle. Hezekiah teaches us that prayer does what neither our panicking, plotting, nor persuasiveness can do.