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Day 249 Isaiah 37:8 So Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom you trust, deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria did to all lands by destroying them utterly; and will you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who dwell between the cherubims, You are God, even You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. 17 Incline You ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 19 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them. 20 Now, therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, even You only. 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Whereas You have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised you, and laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. 23 Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you exalted your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your servants have you reproached the Lord, and have said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. 25 I have dug, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. 26 Have you not heard long ago, how I did it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? Now have I brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste defensed cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it is grown up. 28 But I know your abode, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against me. 29 Because your rage against me, and your tumult, has come up into my ears, therefore, will I put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came. 30 And this will be a sign unto you, you will eat this year such as grows of itself; and the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant and they who escape out of mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 33 Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, he will not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same, will he return, and will not come into this city, says the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save it for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. 36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. You know the saying if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again. Hezekiah prayed to God the first time, and God answered. Sennacherib laughed at God and mocked Him. Therefore, Hezekiah went to God once more and prayed again, laying the message Sennacherib sent back. And God replied. He gave Hezekiah a sign to show that what He was about to do, came from Him alone. Many Christians believe you only need to pray once and no more on an issue because God heard your prayer. Instead, you are to thank God for the answer. That’s not what Hezekiah did. He prayed again and showed God how Sennacherib mocked Him. God’s reply was swift. You don’t only pray one time, you pray until you get an answer, trusting God to come to your defense as He promised. God will always come through for you as He did for Hezekiah. He will not allow anyone to mock Him. The result of Hezekiah’s prayer was Sennacherib’s death at the hands of his sons. God might not kill the person who comes against you, but He will take him out of your life so he won’t be a threat to you anymore. What are you facing? Have you prayed about it? If not, pray. God will hear you and will act because your troubles are His. He will bring you out and bring peace to your life. Let’s pray: Father, You know my battles. You know how Satan attacks when I least expect. Help me according to Your promises to protect and defend me against Satan and his schemes. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 17 February 2022 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay.