2 Kings 19:1-19

“And 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, NKJV)

When things are bad, who do you turn to for help? Last night at our Worship and Prayer our son Justin shared that after church their two-month old little girl was screaming and could not be calmed. Their six-year-old son Landen prayed for her, and immediately she stopped crying! Sometimes we are shocked at just how quickly God answers the sincere prayer of faith.

The Assyrians were threatening to wipe out Jerusalem. They were a formidable opponent that conquered every nation they battled against. They had already conquered over forty fortified cities in Judah. Now they were standing outside the city walls striking terror in the hearts of the people.

When King Hezekiah heard these things, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. He knew that God was their only hope. Then he sent word to the prophet Isaiah and told him to pray. Isaiah immediately sent word back to the king, telling him not to be afraid, for the king of Assyria would hear a rumor that would cause him to return to his own land where he would be killed with the sword.

Sure enough, the Ethiopians had declared war on the Assyrians, so the field commander was drawn away from the Jerusalem siege. But he sent a letter to Hezekiah telling him not to let God deceive them into thinking that they would not be conquered. They had defeated every nation and no gods had been able to stop them. But Hezekiah acted wisely. He spread the letter out before the LORD and made it a matter of desperate prayer.

When we receive bad news or our hearts are troubled or afraid, this is the best thing we can do. We have an open door to cast all our cares upon God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). He wants to be the one that we seek.

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15, NKJV)

Let’s make time today to spread out our matters before the LORD and ask for His mercy, help and wisdom. He will answer us, and we will glorify Him!