God Answers Hezekiah

Lesson Summary

One of the good kings of the southern kingdom of Judah was Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the thirteenth king in Judah and took the throne after his extremely wicked father, Ahaz. In fact, Hezekiah was nothing likehis father, for Hezekiah held fast to the Lord and fought against the idolatry that plagued Judah. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah “trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him”(2 Kings 18:5).

When King Sennacherib of Assyria came against Judah, King Hezekiah sought the Lord. He cried out to God in a prayer that demonstrated his full reliance upon God, recognizing God’s sovereignty and mercy and seeking God’s glory in the matter.

The prayer of Hezekiah has been recognized as one of the great prayers of the Bible—one that we can learn from and emulate in our own lives.

Read and Discuss

Read the following passages and discuss the questions together.

2 Kings 19:14–20

1. How did Hezekiah begin his prayer?

2. What things did Hezekiah acknowledge about God? Which of God’s attributes did he extol (v. 15)?

3. How had Sennacherib reproached the living God (v. 16)? See 2 Kings 19:10–12.

4. What does Hezekiah realize about the other nations’ gods

(vv. 17–18)?

5. What was Hezekiah’s ultimate goal in asking the Lord for

deliverance from the Assyrians (v. 19)?

6. There are several elements in Hezekiah’s prayer that can be a model for our own prayers. Identify how Hezekiah’s prayer was:

• Dependent —

• Specific —

• Humble —

• Bold —

• Faith-filled —

• God-centered —

7. How does verse 20 show us the importance of prayer?

8. Read the following passages. What do they tell us about how and why to pray?

• Matthew 7:7–11 —

• John 14:13–14 —

• 1 John 5:14–15 —

• James 1:5–7 —

• James 5:16–18 —

Memory Verse

Review the memory verse with your family.

Ephesians 2:4–5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

Prayer

Praise God for who he is and what he has done. Thank him for men like Hezekiah who showed dependence on God in desperate situations. Ask God for faith to trust him no matter what may happen. Ask him to glorify himself through your life.