Hezekiah, A Man Of Prayer

Title: “Hezekiah, a Man of Prayer” Scripture: IIKi.19:14-19

Type: Sermon Series on Prayer Where: GNBC 7-26-21

Intro: Barna research says slightly more than four out of five adults in the U.S. (84%) claim they had prayed in the past week. That has been the case since Barna began tracking the frequency of prayer in 1993. A Newsweek poll titled "Is God Listening?" indicated that, of those who pray, 87% believed that God answers their prayers at least some of the time. Even so, unanswered prayers did not deter them from praying. 85% insisted that they could accept God's failure to grant their prayers. Only 13% declared they have lost faith because their prayers went unanswered. 54% say that when God doesn't answer their prayers, it means it wasn't God's will to answer. The things people pray for include health, safety, jobs, and even success, valid or not. 82% said they ask for health or success for a child or family member when they pray. 82% believed that God does not play favorites in answering prayers. 79% said God answers prayer for healing someone with an incurable disease. 75% asked for strength to overcome personal weakness. 73% answered that prayers for help in finding a job are answered. On the lighter side, 51% agreed that God doesn't answer prayers to win sporting events. 36% have never prayed for financial or career success. (http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/150915-us-statistics-on-prayer.html) Most people believe in the power of prayer and in fact pray. Today we will look at just such a man: King Hezekiah.

Prop: “Today we’ll examine 3 Prayers of Hezekiah to give us Insight into the King’s heart.”

BG: 1. Hezekiah was a good king. He was a king of Judah.

2. Examining 3 specific prayers: Two rooted in crisis, one in thanksgiving.

3. Reigned from 728-686 BC. Was born to evil king Ahaz and had wicked son Manasseh.

Prop: “Let’s examine 3 Prayers of Hezekiah that will give us insight into the King’s heart.”

I. Hezekiah Prayed when Facing a National Crisis. II Ki. 19:14-19

A. Hezekiah Sought the Lord when Facing a National Catastrophe.

1. The King Desperately sought the Lord when His Nation Faced Assyrian Invasion.

a. Assyria was a warring superpower that dominated the Middle East for 300 years (911-609 bc). They had destroyed the N. Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, deporting much of the population of N. Kingdom. It’s now about 20 yrs later and the hungry monster of a nation is looking to destroy Israel’s surviving sister state, Judah.

b. By the time we get to the Biblical narrative of II Ki. 9:14-19, Assyria has gobbled up 42 of Judah’s cities and had taken over 200k prisoners of war! Verse 13 generalizes this destruction, but Assyrian records actually state the number. Illust: We have all heard the phrase; “It’s good to be king!” (Pleasures, wealth, power, etc.) Well, this is one of those instances where it is NOT good to be king! The responsibility for the nation’s existence has fallen upon Hezekiah and he is terrified.

2. Hezekiah does His Duty and Prepares the People for Siege While Also Seeking the Lord.

a. Leaders are always responsible to lead. In part that means a leader must prepare for unforeseen eventualities. However, a godly leader must also be willing to set an example for his people spiritually. The king here is preparing his capital for a last stand, a siege. Illust: We all love that sort of thing. (Lord of the Rings, i.e.). If you are old enough to have watched the Saturday Westerns, “circling the wagons” meant a last stand was about to take place. Hezekiah tries to secure his alliance with the aged and decrepit one time power of Egypt. The unimpressed Assyrians scoff. Illust: Extra-Biblical sources tell us that Hezekiah had foresight enough to have engineers tunnel through 1748ft. of solid rock from one section of Jerusalem to another so as to provide the people with access to water. The most important preparation of all the king made, was the preparation of the heart: PRAYER! The king prayed!

b. Illust: After the success of Union forces at Gettysburg, Sec. of State William Seward had a meeting with President Lincoln. “I was very concerned about the battle Mr. President. There were many times during the battle I thought all was lost. We couldn’t have suffered another loss like Manassas or Chancellorsville.” Lincoln looked at his Sec. of State and exclaimed: “I knew we would win.” “What do you mean Mr. President? There were several moments when all could have been lost.” “Well, you make think this is silly, Mr. Seward, but I struggled with the Lord in prayer that our troops would be victorious. At a certain point in my prayer the Lord gave me assurance and confidence that we would be victorious. And we were.”