Relevant Passages: 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 32
Hezekiah had the challenge of being the king of the southern kingdom of Judah at the at the time the kingdom of Israel just to the north came to a violent end under the onslaught of Sennacherib’s army.
Three prayers of Hezekiah’s are included in these chapters: Hezekiah’s prayer for the healing of the defiled worshipers, 2 Chron. 30:18-20; his prayer for deliverance from Sennacherib, the king of Assyria 2 Kings 1915-19; and his prayer for healing from a fatal illness that struck him at the age of 39, 2 Kings 20:3. For an earlier pattern of prayer, see 2 Chron. 30:18-20.
For your reflection and discussion:
- King Hezekiah was dead by the time the books of Kings and Chronicles were written. What possible purposes would these writers have in preserving this prayer? Can we tell by careful reading of the Bible what those purposes might have been?
- To speak as a believer, what possible purposes would God have in preserving this prayer? Can we tell by a careful reading of the text what God has in mind for us to learn?
- If Hezekiah’s prayer of intercession in 2 Kings 19:15-19 is a model of prayer, what does it model? What part of Hezekiah’s prayer speaks for you?
- Literally millions of educated persons living in so-called Christian countries believe that God does not exist-either in fact or in effect. Hezekiah’s situation may help us in those times when the fears and doubts arise that God is an illusion and prayer futile.
