“Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” 2 Kings 20:2-3 NIV
Have you ever feel like you are praying to a wall? Like heaven is closed and no matter how many times you pray for something in your life it seems your prayers cannot reach the sky? I have, and I want to share with you what God has told me through Hezekiah history.
Hezekiah was a good king, if you read from 2 Kings 18, you will see that in spite of he had to lead Israel people in the midst of a difficult time - God‘s people were rebuked through an Assyria invasion - he walked with rightfulness before the Lord and eventually helped Israel people to be free. See below how God talks about him.
“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. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.” 2 Kings 18:5-7 NIV
But one day Hezekiah got ill, and God sent Isaiah prophet to tell him he was going to die. So I can understand why Hezekiah pray heard so hopeless. Hezekiah had a line of predecessors that did evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused Israel to commit in idolatry. There were a couple that did good but still didn‘t led people to the Lord, but allowed them to keep committing in idolatry. Therefore, Hezekiah was used to see bad things happening to his ancestors and was accepting the same fate for him.
But why God did this? It seems mean to me, don’t you think? He certainly didn’t sent that disease to Hezekiah, since nothing bad can come from a good God. You cannot get bad fruits from a good tree and neither the other way around (Mat.7:18). But God certainly allows and use those things for His purpose. So why He sent Isaiah to tell him he was going to die? Hezekiah was the only king that God approved after several ones that just disappointed Him, all over and over again. It doesn't seem rightful to me. So I asked God.
Can you imagine if the same thing happens to you? How would you react? I think somehow we all feel in the same situation as Hezekiah, sentenced to a global pandemic disease that no matter what, nobody can cure... like praying to a wall. And this is what God led me to notice. See below.
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”” 2 Kings 20:1 NIV (emphasis added)
So God allowed this, as He is allowing this bad ill to happen all around us, so we put our house in order!. People all over the world is forced to stay at home, caring for their families and working out their differences. Setting things right before the Lord. But the must important house we need to set right is the one our true self is living in, our interior home.
By the way, this feels kind of harsh, but God doesn't send His major prophets to talk to anyone, but only to people that matters to Him and represents an important part of His eternal plan. Kings for His kingdom, as Hezekiah. So if you are reading this, is not a coincidence... you are very important to Him.
God is rightful, look what happens after Hezekiah prayed...
“Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’ ”” 2 Kings 20:4-6 NIV (emphasis added)
It is not about what we do, but who we are before the Lord that set us right. God didn't let Isaiah go out from the court before going back to Hezekiah with an answer, because God wanted him to know that He actually listened to his prayers.
There is still hope... So let's pray! pray any time we feel there is injustice in our lives. Please, let's just pray. God certainly have heard our prayers and have seen our tears. A pray from a righteous man can heal an entire city. Even if you feel He is not listening.
He can heal us and bring deliverance to our souls, our houses, our cities, from this death we are living in. So we can come back to His temple to praise him again.
“he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8 NIV
God was even willing to do a sign that entitled changing the rules of physics for a moment, only to have his heart firmly rooted on Him (Jud 6.17, Gen 15:8).
Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lordon the third day from now?” Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?” “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. 2 Kings 20:7-11 NIV (emphasis added)
In this we know that God is making us a promise: He is the only one that can make possible something impossible. If God have given you promises for a certain time. He will fulfill them all. He knows how hard it is to wait something different in our lives when we have been surrounded by the opposite. So He will make sure to let you know that He listens to you, He is good, He is powerful, He is able and that you are not alone.
This kind of reassurance can set a soul truly free, not only from death in this time, but will fuel it for an eternity of freedom in hope and power. That certainly is a rightful and an enduring reward for walking in rightfulness before God. That's the heritage of the servants of the Lord (Isa 54:16-17).
'I love the Lord , for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord :
“ Lord , save me!”
The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
For you, Lord , have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living. '
Psalms 116:1-9 NIV