New Living Translation (NLT)
14 After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 17 Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
18 “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 19 And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.
20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”
The Bible tells us that Hezekiah was a king who "trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel." It says, "There was never another king like him in the land of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. So the LORD was with him and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute." (2Kings 18:5-7)
The resulting military campaigns by the Assyrian king Sennacherib were successful. Judah fell, its citizens were taken captive, and only the fortified city of Jerusalem remained with Hezekiah. The prayer at the beginning of this writing is Hezekiah's prayer to his God - Jehovah - in whom he had steadfast faith. The prayer shows that Hezekiah acknowledged the strength of his enemy, having had first hand experiences of defeat as the towns of Judah fell. But even in his last stand, with Sennacherib's army surrounding Jerusalem, Hezekiah showed steadfast trust in his LORD for a deliverance! He knew his God for who He was! The Almighty, the All Seeing, the All Knowing God! And so he brought his challenge, even though seemingly on his last leg, to his God. To have faith in God when all seems lost, trusting in God when your senses, your experience tells you all is lost will have amazing results.
It was his steadfast faith that led Daniel to not get frustrated when his enemies succeeded in having king Darius pass the law that all subjects in the kingdom should pray to no god, but the king himself. Rather we read,
It was their steadfast faith, that led Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego to refuse to bow down to the statue of king Nebuchanezzar and worship him, and that steadfast faith gave them the courage to say to the king,
Children of God, you will always have challenges in life. Some challenges would appear absolutely insurmountable! When Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, had a military campaign against the kingdom of Judah, where Hezekiah was king, most of Judah fell, but Hezekiah held on to the fortified city of Jerusalem. His steadfast faith would not allow him to concede defeat in face of insurmountable odds. From his experience he knew that he faced a tough opponent in Sennacherib, but rather than throw in his towel and accept defeat, he brought his challenge to his God's presence and prayed about it, steadfastly trusting in his God for deliverance. When all was seemingly lost, the LORD sent his angel (one angel) who wiped out a 185,000 of Senacherib's battle hardened soldiers in one night forcing him to withdraw his campaign against Hezekiah.
Philippians 4:6-7 states, "6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
May God's grace give you steadfast faith, and through your actions open the eyes of others to see your God's glory!
The resulting military campaigns by the Assyrian king Sennacherib were successful. Judah fell, its citizens were taken captive, and only the fortified city of Jerusalem remained with Hezekiah. The prayer at the beginning of this writing is Hezekiah's prayer to his God - Jehovah - in whom he had steadfast faith. The prayer shows that Hezekiah acknowledged the strength of his enemy, having had first hand experiences of defeat as the towns of Judah fell. But even in his last stand, with Sennacherib's army surrounding Jerusalem, Hezekiah showed steadfast trust in his LORD for a deliverance! He knew his God for who He was! The Almighty, the All Seeing, the All Knowing God! And so he brought his challenge, even though seemingly on his last leg, to his God. To have faith in God when all seems lost, trusting in God when your senses, your experience tells you all is lost will have amazing results.
It was his steadfast faith that led Daniel to not get frustrated when his enemies succeeded in having king Darius pass the law that all subjects in the kingdom should pray to no god, but the king himself. Rather we read,
"But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to this God." (Daniel 6:10)And for this Daniel was thrown into the lions den.
It was their steadfast faith, that led Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego to refuse to bow down to the statue of king Nebuchanezzar and worship him, and that steadfast faith gave them the courage to say to the king,
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't , Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18)For their steadfast faith, God rewarded them. For Daniel, God sent his angel into the lions den to shut their mouth. They were as docile as pussycats in front of Daniel. For Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego, He sent his angel into the fiery furnace. We read their bondages were burnt off, yet not a single hair on their body was burned, nor did their clothes smell of smoke.
Children of God, you will always have challenges in life. Some challenges would appear absolutely insurmountable! When Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, had a military campaign against the kingdom of Judah, where Hezekiah was king, most of Judah fell, but Hezekiah held on to the fortified city of Jerusalem. His steadfast faith would not allow him to concede defeat in face of insurmountable odds. From his experience he knew that he faced a tough opponent in Sennacherib, but rather than throw in his towel and accept defeat, he brought his challenge to his God's presence and prayed about it, steadfastly trusting in his God for deliverance. When all was seemingly lost, the LORD sent his angel (one angel) who wiped out a 185,000 of Senacherib's battle hardened soldiers in one night forcing him to withdraw his campaign against Hezekiah.
Philippians 4:6-7 states, "6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
May God's grace give you steadfast faith, and through your actions open the eyes of others to see your God's glory!
Mighty to Save - Hillsongs
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