Faith in the God Who Saves Us From Our Enemies pt. 2

2) When attacks arise we can seek the Lord (37:1-20) – When we are attacked by either Satan or people of this world, the very first thing we should is go to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is our direct line of communication with the Almighty God. We should use it and use it often. There are two ways we should seek the Lord.

a.) We should seek the Lord immediately (v.1-9)

Look at verse 1 of ch. 37:“And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD.” (v.1)

When Hezekiah heard the news his reaction was to let his emotions out and then seek the Lord in prayer. He is soberly realistic about what is about to happen and he turns to God in his hour of need. When we are under attack, it is completely appropriate to express our emotions. But then, after we have had time to vent, we should immediately seek the Lord.

The next thing Hezekiah did was he sent his top three officials to the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and then obviously felt that the Lord was leading him to His man, Isaiah.

Look at Isaiah’s reply in verses 6-7: Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD, "Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land." (v.6-7)

Sure enough, as the Lord said, the king of Assyria heard a rumor that Ethiopia was attacking them and went home just as the Lord predicted. It’s funny at just the mention of a rumor, the big, bad, king of Assyria tucked his tail and ran home. Seek the Lord immediately and He will answer your prayer and watch His plan unfold. The second way we should seek the Lord is to seek the Lord passionately.

b.) We should seek the Lord passionately (v.10-20)

Again, Sennacherib sent a message to Hezekiah to not trust in his Lord. Again, he brings up their past conquests and claim that all of the other gods did not save the other countries. Even when our enemies are not attacking us face to face, they will still try to attack us from a distance. The Devil is persistent so we have to seek the Lord immediately and passionately.

Illustration: There was a pastor many years ago who had the reputation of being a gifted counselor. One day he was ministering to a poor and impoverished community. He came across a woman that was so depressed she could not get out of the bed. She cried to the pastor, “What shall I do? What shall I do?” The pastor, whose wife had died and left him widowed at an early age, told the woman the honest truth: He said, “You cannot do any better than to take all your sorrows to Jesus. You must tell Jesus.” Suddenly, the lady’s face lit up and she replied: “Yes! That’s it! I must tell Jesus!” The pastor came home and the woman’s words echoed in his ears as he wrote the lyrics to an old hymn:

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone[1]

What did Hezekiah do this second time after getting this message? He went and told Jesus. Look at verse 16.

O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. "Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone So they have destroyed them. "Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.

Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and extolled Him with praise and asked Him to listen to what Sennacherib was doing. When you are being attacked, it is not just you that the world and Satan are attacking; it is Christ they are attacking! Hezekiah prayed for the deliverance of the Jews for His glory so that His name would be exalted, not his own. When we pray for deliverance, pray that we will be delivered so that God may get the glory and not ourselves! This was Hezekiah’s prayer and it should be ours. When attacks arise, go and tell Jesus immediately and passionately.

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[1] This quote was taken from Stephen Rummage’s new book on prayer, Praying with Purpose