Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD"
Text: Isaiah 37:15
THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH I
The messengers of the Rabshakeh delivered a letter to king Hezekiah. He read the letter, and wisely, he sought the LORD in prayer!
“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.
Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:
‘O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim,
You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made heaven and earth.
Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see;
and hear all the words of Sennacherib,
which he has sent to reproach the living God.'”
Isaiah 37:14-17
1. The letter of the Rabshakeh.
a) This was written to weaken the resolve of Hezekiah and Judah.
b) In this letter, the Rabshakeh blasphemed the name of the LORD.
c) He claimed that the LORD could not deliver Judah from the Assyrians.
2. The Response of Hezekiah.
a) He read the letter from the Rabshakeh.
b) He went to the Temple in Jerusalem.
c) He brought the letter from the Rabshakeh and spread it before the LORD.
d) He was asking the LORD to read the letter and to respond to it.
3. The Prayer that Hezekiah offered to the LORD.
a) He addressed God very formally.
i) “O LORD of hosts”
ii) “God of Israel”
iii) “The One who dwells between the cherubim”
b) A clear declaration of faith on the part of Hezekiah.
i) The LORD alone is God.
ii) He is the LORD of all the kingdoms on earth.
iii) He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
c) Petitions made to the LORD.
i) To incline His ear and to hear.
ii) To open His eyes and to see.
iii) To note all that Sennacherib had sent through the hands of the Rabshakeh.