Isaiah 38:4-22 – God’s Response
God responds to this prayer and he does so immediately. We read in 2 Kings 20:4 that Isaiah wasn’t even out the front door of the palace when God spoke to him and told him to return to Hezekiah. By this word Hezekiah is encouraged and assured. Wouldn’t you be? You’ve just been praying for a few minutes? And here’s the knock on the door again! And it’s Isaiah again who says, ‘Just in the few moments you have been praying, God’s Word has come to me, and He says, you have 15 more years, and I will protect my people, I will protect my city. I will allow you to see deliverance. I will allow you to see salvation. I will allow you to see victory.’
We read in verse 22 Hezekiah had said, ‘What is the sign that I should go up to the house of the Lord?’ And you can again read this in 2 Kings 20 and 2 Chronicles 32. Isaiah had been told to say, ‘What do you want? The sun to move forward in the sky faster or go backward.’ And Hezekiah said, ‘It’s no big deal for God to make it go the same direction. Let’s have it go backwards.’ And so the sun went that way a wee bit!
Notice something else here: God healed Hezekiah not directly, but through means as we read in verse 21. God can work without medicine. God can work without surgeons. God can work without doctors. And sometimes He works even despite them. But usually He works through them. And we are presumptuous not to use the means that God has given us.
Questions
- How does God respond to Hezekiah’s prayer?
- What was the sign that Hezekiah would recover?
Prayer Points
- Pray for those dealing with health problems in the congregation.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.