Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?

the king of Assyria's message to the people of God, as recorded in Isaiah 36:20, NIV

 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.

Isaiah 37:14, NIV 

 

At this time in history, Assyria was the greatest military power on the face of the earth. When they wanted to invade and possess a country, they did! No one had been able to stop them, and now they had their sights set on Jerusalem and the nation of Judah. They had already captured all of the fortified cities of Judah them and were now at the capital in Jerusalem, when the king of Assyria sent the message you read above.

 

What could Hezekiah king of Judah do? Assyria had already captured most of the nation. Judah's people were no match for Assyria on their own. But they had something that Assyria did not have: The LORD of all creation was on their side! So Hezekiah did the only thing that could be done: He went to God in prayer and laid out the problem to Him.

 

What good would that do, you may be wondering? Well, that night an angel of the LORD went out and put to death 185,000 men of the Assyrian camp! And Sennacherib king of Assyria took his army and went home, only to be put to death by his own sons.

 

What kind of problem do you have that the LORD couldn't help with? What challenges in your life are too difficult for the LORD? The answer, of course, is that nothing is too difficult for God. I have thought about this a lot, because in recent years our own leaders have decided that all Americans must pay for the torture killings of unborn babies. Like Sennacherib in days of old, they have the power to bring their armies before us should we choose not to meet their wicked demands. They think that God does not have the power to stop them in their evil. But I think that God can still stop the most powerful of evil men, if we will only lay out our problems before Him in prayer.

 

What do you think? Why not take this and all of your other problems, to the LORD in prayer? You might just be surprised what the zeal of the LORD can accomplish... when we humble ourselves before His mighty throne!

 

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the LORD has spoken against him:

... I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against Me. Because you rage against Me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth and I will make you return by the way you came.

...the zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this... I will defend this city and save it"

Isaiah 37:21, 28-29, 32, 35, NIV 

 

Today is day 6 of the 30 day challenge to read through the Old Testament books of the prophets of God, with Isaiah 36-42 being the reading for today. May God richly bless you as you seek His help for all of the problems that are too difficult to handle on your own!