Isaiah 37:1-38

Responses to circumstances are very important to God and will determine a great deal about the final outcome of our lives.  God also responds to us based on our trust in Him.  When we are faced with difficulties in our lives we must be careful to respond in ways that show our faith in God and bring glory to God.  The circumstances of our lives are often out of our control.  How we respond to those circumstances is a great responsibility and completely within our control. 

ISAIAH RESPONDS TO HEZEKIAH’S PLEA WITH PROMISE: Hezekiah has received the threats from Sennacherib with great distress.  His response to those threats is to tear his clothes, cover himself with ashes and send the priest to plea with Isaiah concerning this matter.  This shows genuine concern for the nation as well as God’s reputation.  Isaiah responds to Hezekiah with a promise from God guaranteeing defeat for Sennacherib. God is faithful to give us assurance when we seek Him in our times of need and look to Him for deliverance.  Fear in the face of danger is a natural response but should motivate us to run to the Word of God to be assured by God’s promises instead of allowing our hearts to be filled with anxiety.

HEZEKIAH RESPONDS TO SENNACHERIB’S PROMISE WITH PRAYER: Sennacherib, just as God has promised hears about a war in his kingdom so he knows he must refocus his attentions.  However, he has no intention of abandoning his campaign against Judah.  He sends a scathing letter to Hezekiah in which he promises to overthrow the nation.  In the letter he also blasphemes against God by comparing Him to the idols of the other nations.  Hezekiah responds to this promise of defeat with a sincere prayer to the Lord.  In the prayer he confesses his dependence upon God and demonstrates his deep concern for the blasphemy against God.  He recognizes the greatness of God and the worthlessness of all other idols.  We must learn to respond to trials with faith filled prayers.  When we pray our focus should always be on the glory of God much more than the desperation of our circumstances.


GOD RESPONDS TO HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER WITH POWER: God hears Hezekiah’s prayer and responds with a powerful demonstration of His sovereign control and supernatural strength.  God sends out the Angel of the Lord and 180,000 soldiers from the Assyrian army are killed.  Sennacherib has no option but to retreat back to his country in order to defend the coming attacks but his army has been depleted and his pride has been shattered.  The Assyrian king goes to the temple of his dead god to try to figure out what just happened and he is slaughtered there by his own sons.  What an amazing turn of events!  God responds to prayer in powerful ways and He has great power.  We must learn to pray in the face of trials and trust in the power of the Lord no matter how long our odds might seem.

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