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.”
B. Consider the Motivation behind the prayer.
1. Examine the Motivation behind Hezekiah’s prayer.
a. The Bible gives us excellent insight into this event in Hezekiah’s reign. Is. 37:1-38 records, almost verbatim, the words here in II Ki. 19:1-37. In v.2 Hezekiah sends his aide to Eliakim to get the greatest spiritual leader of the era, the prophet Isaiah! Isaiah comes to the king in his time of greatest need and king declares a national day of prayer and fasting (v.1)
b. Illust: For over 50 yrs., from Truman to GW Bush, Billy Graham served as the unofficial chaplain to US Presidents. Behind the scenes he prayed with Eisenhower during Korea and Cold War. Even gave the Ike a Bible. Prayed with Johnson during the worst of the riots and Vietnam War. When Richard Nixon became disgraced, Graham was there to pray for a man who was overcome with paranoia. It was Graham who was the first to encourage Ford to pardon Nixon, to bring healing to a bitterly divided nation. Clinton called for Graham when he finally confessed the adultery of his sordid affair with a young intern. And he was there, 20 yrs. ago, on 9-14-01, leading a grieving country at the National Cathedral, like Samuel of old, encouraging us to look to God in our trials.
2. It’s Important for us to Pray for events of National and Worldwide Importance.
a. Vv.14-19 – Hezekiah takes the threatening letter he has received from the Assyrian General and goes to the temple. There he spreads the letter out before the Lord and prays over it. Assyria not only threatened Hezekiah’s kingdom, they also mocked and despised his God! Friends, let me tell you this, God is jealous for His own glory! V.16 we see the reproach that these pagans hurl at the One True God! That was their mistake. That was their undoing.
b. We need to pray, as Hezekiah did: v.19 “deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, O Lord, art God!” In times of crisis we, like Hezekiah, need to pray. (Illust- The Chuckle – Martin often highlights items to pray for of national or international importance. You can influence the world from living room chair.)
C. Applic: What was the outcome of Hezekiah’s prayer? God answers Hezekiah’s prayer with an awesome display of Divine power! God send a spiritual solution to answer the Hezekiah’s physical problem: an angel! V. 35 – One angel is beckoned to rebuke this evil Assyrian blasphemer and in a night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers are killed, and when he gets home, a humiliated King Sennacherib is assassinated in the temple of his pagan God.
II. Hezekiah Prayed When Facing a Personal Crisis. Is. 38:1-5
A. Once Again We See the King Facing an Imminent Threat he could not address alone.
1. This threat, however, was not a national emergency, but rather a personal emergency.
a. Vv.1-2. We read that the king had health emergency that was diagnosed by God’s own prophet, Isaiah, to be terminal. What was this illness? Some have wondered if this boil was sign of the Bubonic Plague. Some scholars think that the angel of the Lord had struck down the Assyrian soldiers with plague and now Judah’s king was infected as well. We do not know. We do know that it was to be fatal.
b. Hezekiah responds to the shock of the devastating news by turning away his face in his bed. (Some scholars are critical of this action. I am not. I have not yet received this news.) Illust: If my math is correct, the king would have been about 39 yrs. old at the time! He was in the prime of his life. He had planned on years to come before death would come calling for him. He had projects and now all of that comes to an abrupt halt with the words of the prophet: “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.”
2. We Need to Live with the Understanding that Our Lives Can be over at Any time.
a. Illust: In Lk. 12:13-21 Jesus tells the uncomfortable parable of the Rich Fool. A rich farmer is abundantly blessed and doesn’t have enough room to store his crops. Sets out on a plan to pull down his smaller barns to build bigger ones for the future. However, the Lord comes to this man and says: “‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ Now, don’t misunderstand the application of the parable. God is not against profit or planning. However, we see that the man was wagering his future: “I have enough laid up to take it easy for years….” Christ then pinpoints this arrogance and pride: ““This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” If God blesses you then you and I need to bless God and others by tithing, giving, supporting missions, not becoming proud or arrogant about the amount in our 401k, but being rich towards God.
b. Illust: It doesn’t take too many years living in this fallen world until we hear the jarring news that a friend or loved one has died or been diagnosed with a deadly disease. (Just this past week a family in our church was having a reunion. A younger brother in law jumped in the lake for a swim and never resurfaced! A grad school friend of Carol’s found out her husband’s cancer had returned after being in remission ten years. What do we do in times of personal crisis? Pray!)
B. Once Again, Hezekiah Desperately Prays for Deliverance.
1. This time his prayer isn’t for Deliverance from a Distant Enemy, But Disease & Death itself.
a. Look at Hezekiah’s prayer. The king reminds his King that he has walked faithfully and wholeheartedly with the Lord, trying to live a life that pleased the Lord (v.2). Was Hezekiah a sinner? Of course he was. But he was also a godly king, a rarity for Judah and non-existent in Israel, and by faith he asks the God Whom he had faithfully served to please hear his prayer and deliver him. There was no guarantee God would. We never hold God hostage with our prayers for healing. He may choose to heal or He may choose to give us the grace to undergo the pain and suffering as He did with the Apostle Paul. II Cor. 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
b. Illust: I can imagine what many were saying of the king’s illness. “Why such a bad thing for such a good man.” Illust: “The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain). Illust: We were all shocked by the abrupt withdrawal from the Olympics by Simone Biles. However, what we see in the king may be symbolic. “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”( C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)
2. God hears the king’s humble anguish and heals his body.
a. After Hezekiah’s prayer, the Bible records: “And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” Bad or shocking news requires an emotional outlet. There is no dishonor in tears. Even our Savior wept (Jn.11:35) at the death of a friend, and He even knew that He was about to restore him to life! Friend, when you and I have no other alternative…pray! Seek the Lord and what He wills to do.
b. Illust: For a period of time had an elderly man in church back in SC. This man have lived thinking he was a Christian until in his 50’s and then was truly born again. He was a very zealous convert. Sadly, his infant grandchild died of a heart defect while in surgery at MUSC. I can still remember him saying: “If someone had only prayed the correct way…he would have lived.” Formulistic prayers do not save or heal or raise the dead. It’s not getting the wording 100% correct that brings a cure. It is at the end of the day, the Great I AM, Who can change the destiny or charter a new course for the plan of our lives. Hezekiah prays and God hears that prayer…and answers it according to His own will. Read v.5 Praise the Lord! We have a personal God Who hears our prayers and sees our tears and extends our lives beyond what we deserve! The king is given 15 more years!
C. Applic: Prayer is both our first and last resource. Don’t ever be so complacent to forget to pray and never become so discouraged that you think it is useless to pray! Pray! Do you have a personal crisis need prayer for?
III. Hezekiah Remembered to Give Thanks for God’s Answered Prayer. Is. 38:9-20
A. Beyond Merely Giving Thanks, Hezekiah Learned from God’s Answered Prayer.
1. The King Becomes very Contemplative over his healing.
a. Under the circumstances of what Hezekiah went through we might expect him to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for 15 years of life. However, we see in the passage that he is much more contemplative. In vv. 10-14 we see that the king reflects upon the horror and oppression he felt while facing death. Hezekiah also writes about the Lord’s power to forgive sins and restore life in vv.17-18.
b. God comforts Hezekiah by telling him that He will heal him and give him 15 more years to live. Then the Lord confirms this promise with a miracle. Read v. 8. Can you imagine that! Now only three possible explanations: 1. Earth went back on its rotation for a few moments. 2. The source of light moved. 3. The object blocking the source of light moved. Not sure which is correct, but I know the ONLY One Who can do it! PTL! You know what message that miracle confirmed? Confirmed that even as Hezekiah lay on His death bed, God alone is the author of life and can heal and deliver whomever He desires!
2. Technically, Hezekiah is offering God a song of Thanksgiving in grateful recognition of what He has done for him.
a. Illust: Why do people write songs? Writing a song is always a journey and that's often why people write them. They help us understand ourselves and our complex emotions. They help us figure out why we feel the way we do and share what we discover with others. There's also a broader social benefit as listeners adopt songs which are relevant to their own lives. Sixty songwriters were asked what they love about writing songs. Their answers were surprising in some ways, but it was no surprise to see the role of emotions feature so highly. Answers like: Emotional high from: creating, expression, sound, creative process, enjoy performing, like solving a puzzle, etc.
b. To capture the tone of this song and get the proper interpretation of the lines, the literary genre must be established. This is a classic declarative praise song, a todah60_ftn1 song that would be offered in the Sanctuary, accompanied by the giving of the peace offering. So it is jubilation! It is a praise in celebration of life, thanks to divine intervention. Anyone who has been healed, especially if dramatically from an apparent life-threatening situation, can relate to this praise hymn of praise. Of course, people who have had health restored from lesser ailments can also appreciate the blessing of life.
B. Like Hezekiah’s, Our Lives Should be Marked By Prayers of Gratitude & Thanksgiving.
1. Hezekiah’s Prayer is a Prayer of Gratitude for God’s Saving and Delivering Power.
a. What effect did Hezekiah’s healing have on the King? You might say it sobered him up. It talk him to be more circumspect and walk a little more slowly. It led him to recount the Lord’s salvation and faithfulness to the next generation. (v.19)
b. Illust: Christian parents may I ask a favor from you on behalf of your children? Please take the time to tell them about experiences of faithfulness you have seen with God over the years? Tell them about how God saved you. Delivered you from addiction. Brought you out of the pit of destruction. Saved your marriage.
2. We Should Never Tire of Gratefully Thanking God for His Provision.
a. What was the result of this reflective attitude in the king? V.15 – “to walk along slowly” – To think about life and not be in such a rush. See the hand of God in the details of life. Second, it was v.19 “to recount God’s salvation to the next generation.” (Maybe he did not do such a good job of this. Manasseh was born during these 15 extra years. Worst king of Judah. We need to make sure we start recounting the events of God’s salvation at home. Own family. Children.)
b. Illust: I love the story in Luke 17:11ff, where Jesus heals the ten lepers. The story of healing of the fatal affliction is powerful enough. The fact that not just one but ten lepers are healed is amazing! However, the real teaching moment of the incident is when only one leper comes back, and that one a Samaritan! He comes back and gives thanks for Christ for healing him.
c. Applic: Let me ask you as I ask myself, do you thank God for His answered prayers in your and my life?
