https://odb.org/2025/05/14/bring-it-to-god
2 Kings 19:14–20 (NIV): 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15 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. 16 Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. 17 “It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 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. 19 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.” 20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
King Hezekiah, when he received the letter from his messengers, spread it out before the LORD and prayed. Hezekiah was King of Judah (the Southern Kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem after the split with Israel, which was the Nortern Kindom with its capital in Samaria). Hezekiah reigned for 29 years from the age of 25.
Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of God. This included removing the high places where the Israelites offered sacrifices to pagan gods; cutting down Asherah poles used in the worship of Asherah; and destroying the bronze snake made by Moses, which the Israelites had begun to worship. He trusted in and held fast to God and kept His commandments.
In 2 Kings 19, after Hezekiah laid out the letter in the Temple and prayed, he received word from Isaiah that the LORD Zhad heard his prayer and God later destroyed the Assyrians who had taken over a few cities and was about to invade Jerusalem. The Assyrians later overrun and captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel under King Hoshea, and this was seen and witnessed by Hezekiah during his reign. About 75 years later, during the reign of King Jehoiakim, Judah fell, and this was to the Babylonians when Jehoiakim and the people did evil in the eyes of God, disobeyed His laws and commandments and worshipped Baal and Asherah, the dominant deities of Canaan.
When we are distressed and face difficult situations in life, we may like Hezekiah, spread out our issues before God, and ask our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus, to intervene and help us. But note that Hezekiah was a righteous king before God, unlike Hoshea or Jehoiakim, who were evil before God. Remember – it is not just our prayers but also our matching lives. The prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16).
Have a good week ahead, although it is already Wednesday! May the LORD our God bless us with wisdom and knowledge in all that we do and cover us in His protective arms, and may we be blessed in the shadow of His wings! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 