Poor King Hezekiah faced a fate worse than his own death. The nightmare had the mane Sennacherib, the undefeated king of Assyria. Sennacherib had a massive army and, in the literal sense, cutting-edge chariots. Sennacherib had already crushed all of the nations around Judah from Lebanon in the north to Egypt in the south. And now he was poised to ride his mighty war chariot right through Judah.
In order to intimidate Hezekiah, Sennacherib sent a message reminding Judah of his complete destruction of nine city-states that had opposed him. His message was clear. He intended to make Judah number ten unless they unconditionally put up a white flag and surrendered, and then became slaves that were taken captive back to Assyria.
Hezekiah faced a deadly dilemma. Option A was to watch his nation get crushed by a superior force under the wheels of thundering chariots. Option B was to see his people shackled and led away to Assyria to be slaves. What could he do? What would you do?
Hezekiah chose Option C. he did what we all should do when we face extreme pressure and ferocious enemy attack. He prayed. [2 Kings 19:14-19]
Deliver us.
Notice carefully the sentence “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” This was the expression of Hezekiah’s heart and the heart of his prayer. Hezekiah prayed a very simple prayer. The essence of it is captured in those two little words, “Deliver us.” What else is there to say at times like that? It turns out Option C was a great idea. [READ 2 Kings 19:35].
Isn’t it great serving a God who is both able and willing to deliver us when we ask? That is the promise of Psalm 91.
Asking God for deliverance from evil is definitely a prayer God delights to answer. We don’t have to be facing urgent danger to use it. You may recall that when Jesus gave us the sample prayer, He taught us to regularly pray, “Deliver us from evil or from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13).
Only God knows what evil awaits you today. You don’t need to face it alone. God fights many battles for us, especially when we ask Him to deliver us. Make “Deliver us” one of your daily prayers this week. Also, remember to pray this prayer on behalf of others who are part of the Body of Christ
Our recent experience with my baby son's congestive heart failure was a clear reminder that God is protecting us even when we do not know it. Had he (Isaiah) not gotten a virus, we would not have taken him to the doctor, who then ordered an unrelated x-ray, which revealed an enlarged heart; we would have never known about his condition until it was too late. Thank God for His daily protection!
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