HEARTFELT PRAYERS (3)

“Then he turned his face toward the wall, and PRAYED to the LORD, saying, ‘Remember now, O LORD, I PRAY” – 2 Kings 20:2

Another vivid example of HEARTFELT PRAYERS was the Prayer of Hezekiah the king of Judah: “Then he turned his face toward the wall, and PRAYED to the LORD, saying, ‘Remember now, O LORD, I PRAY, how I have walked before You in truth and with a LOYAL HEART, and have done what was good in Your sight.’ And Hezekiah WEPT BITTERLY” (vv. 2-3). Verse 1 records what preceded these heartfelt prayers: “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.””  When Isaiah the prophet told King Hezekiah that he would die, the king reacted to the message with this desperate, fervent, heartfelt prayer.

Hezekiah reminded God, not of his perfection, but of his efforts to walk before Him with a loyal heart. Elsewhere, he actually acknowledged his imperfection: “But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back” (Isa.38:17). Hezekiah might have wanted to say more to God, but emotion overcame him and he broke down in tears and wept bitterly. The prayer had such an effect that even before Isaiah left the courtyard of the royal palace, God sent him back to the king with a second message in response: “I have HEARD your prayer, I have SEEN your tears” (2Kgs.20:5). God hears prayers and sees sincere tears from the heart.

Not all of the king’s communication with God came in the form of words. There was more to the prayer in Hezekiah’s heart, where it came from. His prayer was not just off the top of his head. It reflected the deepest feelings of his heart. So God heard the prayer in his heart, as well as the bit that he managed to utter before he broke down in tears. It is fair to conclude that the king wanted to ask God to spare his life. God granted even the unuttered request by adding fifteen more years to the life of the king.

Hezekiah was a most remarkable king. After David, he was perhaps the most righteous and faithful king that reigned in Judah. He served God remarkably, protecting and purifying Jehovah’s worship. He enacted sweeping reforms, including a strict mandate for the sole worship of the Lord and a prohibition of idolatry (2Kgs.18:2-7). But he was also a model of heartfelt prayer. Earlier, Hezekiah had prayed that God be glorified in the defeat of Sennacherib's army who threatened Judah: “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 before the Lord…Now therefore, O Lord our God, I PRAY, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone” (2Kgs.19:14-19). That was a man of prayer in action!

Beyond the collective setting, Hezekiah demonstrated heartfelt praying when he fell miserably sick, almost to death, at a tender age of 39, after only 14 years on the throne! The prophet’s visit was to demand that he puts his affairs in order, ready to die. As at this time Hezekiah had no son; hence the lineage of the Messiah was threatened by this illness! The king turned this desperate situation and the threat of death into prayers. He immediately wrestled with the Lord, for this was not in accord with God’s promise of length of days and a fruitful reign! God extended his life by fifteen years, such that Manasseh was born and came to the throne at age 12.

Hezekiah could have said non-challantly, like Eli, “It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him” (1Sam.3:18). No, that was not his attitude. Rather, he turned to God, not away from God. And God had Mercy, healed, delivered, and restored longer life!