King Hezekiah Prays (2 Kings 19: 14-20, 34-35)

After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the LORD to see. He prayed: LORD God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. But just look how Sennarchib (Assyrian Commander) has insulted you, the living God. It is true, our LORD, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. But you are the LORD our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God. God replied, "I will protect it for myself and for my servant David." That same night, the LORD sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand of them. And so the next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies. It is good to know and to remember that in all of life's trials that the battle is the Lords! How many times have we said to ourselves, "If I try hard I can do it!" Jesus reminds us that apart from me, you can do nothing. In King Hezekiah's prayer, he was reminding God that he knows the source of his strength and was counting on him alone for deliverance. This is far greater than the Jews of the Kingdom of Israel who walked in the sins of Jeroboam and were carried by these same Assyrian soldiers into exile. King Hezekiah was one of the kings who followed in the pattern of David, because it was David who trusted in his God and was counted worthy for his faith. Daily Prayer: Lord, it is not only military battles where you are the source of my strength. In my daily life as I am tempted by Satan and his demons to stray from you, this too is battle, but it is spiritual warfare. Here too, the battle is yours alone. I cannot defend myself, but you have given the Holy Spirit to defend me and to comfort me. This is because greater is he who is me than he who is in the world. Amen.