1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian Hezekiah Prayer | Page 4

Monday
2 Kings 19 v 14 – 19
I’d like to start by asking you a question: Have you ever received bad news; news that could,
potentially, wreak havoc in your world? A telephone call that tells you that you’re terminally
ill, or that your spouse wants a divorce, or a lawyer telling you that you’re being sued, or
perhaps news of a devastating event that has just taken place? You know full well that this
news could trash your whole life and, the more you think about it, the more helpless you feel
as you realise you have absolutely no power to control it – this is the situation that Hezekiah
was in!
Hezekiah’s response is so notable for us:
1. He GOES to the Temple of God – the Temple in Old Testament times was the place where
you went in order to meet with God. He did not go to his generals; he knew they could not do
anything. He did not go to his wise men and counsellors; this problem was way beyond their
ability to help. So I ask again – where do YOU go when you don’t know where to go?
Hezekiah shows us:You GO to GOD.
I find it incredibly sad (and I believe God does to) that we tend to use God as the “last resort”,
i.e. when all else fails, only then do we go to Him. If there is one thing we learn from Hezekiah
it’s that, for him, God was his first and last resort.

Matthew 6 v 33 tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God…” – with this instruction comes an
associated promise – “…and all these things will be given to you as well.” These are not the
words of a pop psychologist, but the words of Jesus Himself. I wonder if we were to do as He
tells us to do, would we not avert so much additional pain. God wants to be very much
involved in our lives – please remember that Jesus did not just die for your sins, but also for
your baggage and pain as well.
I close with the words of an age old hymn:
What a Friend we Have in Jesus, written by Joseph Scriven: