Hezekiah’s prayer was the beginning of it all.

King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the Lord, and prayed, “O Lord, the God of Israel, seated on your throne above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.  – 2 Kings 19:14-15 GNT

Hezekiah captures the importance of having a vision of who God really is. God is higher than any earthly king. The king’s prayer springs from his faith in the God who created heaven and earth.

The prayer for deliverance continues…

Now, Lord, look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God. We all know, Lord, that the emperors of Assyria have destroyed many nations, made their lands desolate, and burned up their gods—which were no gods at all, only images of wood and stone made by human hands. Now, Lord our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that only you, O Lord, are God. – 2 Kings 19:16-19 GNT

I had to share this because the answer to his prayer came because he prayed. I cannot imagine what he would have done if he had chosen not to pray. Prayer mattered.

Then Isaiah sent a message telling King Hezekiah that in answer to the king’s prayer. That night an angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. At dawn the next day there they lay, all dead! Then the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh. One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords and then escaped to the land of Ararat. Another of his sons, Esarhaddon, succeeded him as emperor. – 2 Kings 19:20.35-37 GNT

I think it is important for me to remember that prayer is not the magic here, but it was definitely the mode of delivery. While it has many qualities that can teach me how to pray, it has an underlining value that matters more – how to trust. It models faith. That is not to say there is no power in prayer – there is – for prayer is powerful because it is given to a great God who responds to the faith of those who are praying to Him. Prayer works because of the power of the God to whom I pray. The power in prayer is found in the faith in which it is offered. I must remember that prayer does not force God to do anything.

So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act. – Hosea 12:6 GNT

I wait patiently, in faith, in prayer. I wait on Him in my heart and pray with my lips that His will be done. As I wait, I pray and praise.

The Lord will defend his people;
    he will take pity on his servants.

They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    and eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear;
    they are not even able to breathe.
May all who made them and who trust in them
    become^[b] like the idols they have made. – Psalm 135:14, 16-18 GNT

God can and wants to make my prayers matter. My mouth has to speak in prayer, praise and confession. There has to be life – prayer and praise – which are the breath of spiritual life. If not, then am I praying to an idol? If so, then my mouth is not really praying, my eyes do not see the truth and my ears do not hear the voice of God – the life of God is not in me.

“Prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things, and the
great secret of all lack in our experience, in our life and
in our work is neglect of prayer.” – R.A. Torrey