As I continued our series on prayer, “Great Prayers of the Bible,” this past weekend at Eastbrook Church, I focused attention on King Hezekiah in 2 Kings, chapters 18-20.  This message was an exploration of how we can turn to God for help in difficult circumstances, with some reflections on how our daily lives relate to our lives of prayer.

Hezekiah is worthy of attention as he is one of the only kings spoken favorably about in the entire annals of the kings:

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. (2 Kings 18:5-6)

I’m going to tell you that this message starts a little differently than usual, with some interactive time as a congregation and some singing as a response to that (which we had to cut out for copyright reasons). Sometimes God interrupts me in preaching and I just have to go with it. Thanks to the worship team for being so flexible with during the services.

You can view the message video and an expanded sermon outline below. You can follow the entire series at our web-site, through the Eastbrook app, or through our audio podcast.

Praying in the Midst of Trouble (2 Kings 18:9-19:14)

Israel overthrown by the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:9-12)

Jerusalem threatened by the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:13-16)

When no human solution works (2 Kings 18:17-37)

Hezekiah’s two-part response (2 Kings 19:1-14)

 

Praying for Deliverance for Others (2 Kings 19:15-20)

Recognizing the greatness of God (2 Kings 19:15)

Sharing our problems with God (2 Kings 19:16-18)

Asking God for help (2 Kings 19:19)

God’s deliverance (2 Kings 19:20, 35-37)

 

Praying for Deliverance for Ourselves (2 Kings 20:1-7)

Hezekiah’s need (2 Kings 20:1)

Hezekiah’s simple prayer (2 Kings 20:2-3)

God’s deliverance (2 Kings 20:4-7)