2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 / Matthew 7:6, 12-14
Whenever we get bad news, it is inevitable that we will be rattled.
It may be some bad talk against us, or some complaint against us, or a warning letter against us.
Whatever it may be, we will be anything from being annoyed and upset, to being worried and anxious.
When Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, sent the letter to king Hezekiah, we can imagine how king Hezekiah felt when he read it.
Because the letter read: “Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you, when he says: Jerusalem shall not fall into the power of the king of Assyria. You have learnt by now what the kings of Assyria have done to every country, putting them all under the ban. Are you likely to be spared?”’
Instead of giving in to fear, king Hezekiah took the letter, went up to the Temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.
And then he prayed: ‘O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubs, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth.
Give ear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib who has sent to insult the living God.
But now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, I pray you, and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone are God, Lord.’
God hear his prayer and God acted. That same night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib struck camp and left; he returned home and stayed in Nineveh.
Yes, God listens to the prayer of the humble and the helpless.
When we have sinned, let us ask for forgiveness.
When we are wrongly accused or threatened, let us pray for God’s help.
Let us be still and keep praying, and we will see the wonderful and loving hand of God upon us.