Hezekiah Prays for Help

King Hezekiah loved God and tried to follow Him. But a BIG problem came. The king of Assyria attacked! His army was huge and scary. They had already beaten everyone else. Now they surrounded Jerusalem.

The Assyrian commander stood outside the walls and yelled mean things. 'Give up! Your God can't save you! No god has ever stopped us! We destroyed everyone!'

The people of Jerusalem were terrified.

King Hezekiah tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show how upset he was. He went to God's temple to pray. He also sent a message to the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah sent back good news: 'Don't be afraid! God will take care of this.'

But then a letter came from the Assyrian king. It was full of threats and insults about God. 'Your God is no different from all the other gods we've crushed!'

What did Hezekiah do? He took that scary letter straight to the temple. He spread it out on the floor in front of God and prayed:

'Lord, You are the ONLY true God! You made everything! Please hear what this king is saying against You. It's true—they HAVE destroyed other nations and their fake gods. But YOU are different! Please save us so everyone will know YOU are the only real God!'

God answered through Isaiah: 'I have heard your prayer! The Assyrian king won't even shoot ONE arrow at Jerusalem! I will protect this city for my own honor!'

That very night, something amazing happened. An angel of the Lord went through the Assyrian camp. In the morning, 185,000 enemy soldiers were dead! The Assyrian king had to go home in shame.

God answered Hezekiah's prayer! When we're scared and don't know what to do, we can bring our problems to God just like Hezekiah did.