Hezekiah’s Prayer
Open Your Bible
2 Kings 18:1-37, 2 Kings 19:1-37, Numbers 21:4-9, Isaiah 9:6-7
BY Kaitlin Wernet
I remember waking up at night when I was a little girl and feeling the heat of a Florida summer in my grandparents’ house. Tiptoeing down the hallway that held childhood photos of my mom, her siblings, and a painting of Jesus (we’d always joke that He was the favorite child), I’d sneak into the bathroom for a sip of water, only to realize the adults were still awake. Quietly scurrying down the hallway and pausing where the carpet met the hardwood floors of the living room, I’d hide behind the entryway and listen in.
My Grandmother and Papa were almost always reading the Bible aloud to each other, taking turns reading chapters and nodding heads. Then, they’d bow their heads in prayer. I always felt an urge to leave when this happened, feeling that it was too intimate of a moment to secretly witness, but I was also extremely curious. What did adults talk about after the kids went to bed? What do they ask God for?
Sometimes I feel the same way when I read prayers in the Bible, and Hezekiah’s is no exception. He’d already declared, “Today day is a day of trouble” (2 Kings 19:3, NLT), and he was in deep mourning after receiving a report that confirmed the enemy’s dedication to to the destruction of Jerusalem. But as we read this account and get to peer into how someone else handles the darkness, there are two things that stand out.
First, Hezekiah doesn’t sugarcoat his situation. He doesn’t ignore how bad it is or try to find the silver lining right away. He is in trouble, and he is honest about it. Second, he immediately takes it to the house of God. He doesn’t spend time strategizing solutions or wondering, Why me? He doesn’t try to clean up the situation before he invites God into the mess of it.
God does not call us to deny our circumstances, nor does He ask us to sit in them alone. The words of Hezekiah’s prayer weren’t as important as the act of his asking. The same goes for us when we want to take note of the eloquent phrases our loved ones use in prayer, or when we feel like we don’t have any words left. Prayer is not a one-sided speech; it is an ongoing invitation to conversation with God. May we approach our own prayers in the darkness in the same way. May we see them as an opportunity to invite God into our daily lives and ask Him to intervene on our behalf. And may we pursue God in prayer, seeking to glorify Him and acknowledge His goodness, even when both seem hidden to us.
18 thoughts on "Hezekiah’s Prayer"
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This passage on Hezekiah brings hope. So many generations of kings before him “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. But Hezekiah remained faithful and relied on God. So often I can get discouraged and overwhelmed when I listen to the current news cycle and it feels like our world is spinning out of control & hopeless. Hezekiah “spread it before the Lord”. His response was “You are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth…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.” God’s response was “Your prayer I have heard…For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” Such a reminder that God is ultimately in control and that my response to anxiety should always be to “spread it before the Lord”.
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Good morning. Yesterday I shared about my student, Macy, who has been diagnosed with Hodgkins. Yesterday afternoon she had a PET scan. It showed that her cancer had spread to multiple areas in her body. She has a mass the size of an apple in her chest, near her heart. It is inoperable. They also believe it is in her lymph nodes. This is not the news we wanted. She will be having a biopsy today to make sure that it is Hodgkins and to determine what type of treatment. Please pray that it is Hodgkins Lymphoma which is very treatable. We are a little sick here at school. The students don’t know but they will. Please pray for our faculty as we attempt to help these kids navigate all of this. God is good and I know that He has all of us in His hands, but y’all this is so hard!
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Praying
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Praying for healing and a positive outcome for Macy and for strength and peace for all who care about her.
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Much the same as in Hezekiah’s day, there are loud and discordant voices mocking God and the truth of His Word. There are many who sow doubt and confusion, trying to sway God’s people against Him. Our culture says it is not ‘woke’ to believe in God, to trust the Bible, to live with our eyes on eternity. What fools in our midst! Let us be so grounded in our faith that we are unshakeable, unmoveable, undeterred. Let us be as Hezekiah, on our knees imploring the Lord to make Himself known more and more. Let us trust Him as we wait to see Him act on behalf of His children. Let us bear witness to the unfailing love of God. Great is His faithfulness!
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Very good – thanks Emily!
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Good Morning everyone! I pray that everyone has an amazing day! Today’s reading was another daily reminder I need to not feed my worry and go to God with my worry and he will provide and answer. I will continue to listen closely for his answers…Amen
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He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.
What wonderful words to read in scripture especially when God’s nation was going to go through another possible rough patch.
May we do what is right in the Lord’s sight just as our ancestor David had done.
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Isaiah 3:19-20
Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on? You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?
“What are you relying on” immediately jumped out at me when I read this! Other translations say, “In whom have you placed your confidence.” To me, it was a very convicting statement. Am I using my own strength, my own words, or the strength and words of others to get through life or to work through problems? Am I relying on things that will not last or am I putting my hope and trust in the only One who can stand the test of time—The one true God that has proven His faithfulness time and time again! What or whom are you relying on today? -
Just popped in to say “hi everyone” and that I’m glad to be part of the SRT community again. See you in the next study!
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