“Because you have prayed to Me about Senacherib King of Assyria…”
Isaiah 37:21
Things were bleak in Jerusalem. The Assyrians were coming to destroy the city and nobody could stop them. If the pollsters had been calling households, opinions would have come in a slam-dunk in favor of the Assyrian King and his advisors. Senacherib’s army had already mopped up all over the region and Jerusalem was next.
The Assyrians send word to Judah’s King Hezekiah in Jerusalem and ask a good question: “Who are you relying on?” Then the Assyrians went on to launch a psychological attack by adding—all your counsel in this war is just made up of “empty words”. It’s over. Give up.
Like all effective enemies, the Assyrians had studied their targets. In Isaiah 36:10 they reminded King Hezekiah that Israel’s own prophets had already told them what was coming. Because of Israel’s persistent rebellion against God, the city would be carried off into captivity. They put it in a letter and they mocked Israel saying—even your God is against you. It’s over. Give up.
While Assyrians surrounded the city with a sea of armed warriors, the King of Judah, Hezekiah, grabbed the letter and entered the temple. He spread out its pages before the Lord and prayed. It was an honest prayer. It was the prayer of a man who has no place else to go.
“And now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, Lord, art God.”
God answered and His answer reminds me that my prayers can change history—
“Because you have prayed to Me about Senacherib King of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him…”
“Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the King of Assyria, ‘He shall not come to this city, or shoot an arrow there; neither shall he come before it with a shield, nor throw up a mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not ome to this city, declares the Lord.”
“For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”
The Scripture says, “Because you have prayed…” Our prayers can change the course of history. And today, America’s history hangs in the balance.
“And He shall be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
Isaiah 33:15
