God Moves Because You Pray
Isaiah 36:22 to 37:22
June 7-8, 2025
As we have been seeing, the great theme of the Book of Isaiah is revival and call for Israel to come back to the Lord, but here in these chapters, Isaiah is giving an account of a time in Israel's history when they went through perhaps their greatest difficulty, their darkest hour. What is interesting is that the greatest trouble came immediately after their greatest revival. We were studying that recently, Hezekiah's Revival. Amazing. One may ask, why would God allow such troubles immediately following a great revival?
Troubles and trials and tribulations are part of living in this dark, evil world. Jesus said, "In this world, you will have many troubles but take courage. I have overcome the world." See, maybe perhaps a better perspective would be to understand that God uses revival to prepare people for the trouble that lie ahead. See, in other words, if you're going to be walking through a valley of trouble, you need a foundation on which you can stand. You need a rock.
You need faith that is sure. You need promises that you can rely on, that God would give to you overwhelming victory in the midst of it. God never said that he would keep you from troubles, but that you would be victorious in those troubles. For example, Romans 8, one of the great verses in this regard. I love Romans 8, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It speaks to it so beautifully here in these verses where he says that this way, "Who," or we might even say what, "shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or in other words, troubles of trials and difficulties, distresses, persecutions, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, troubles of His life.
"No," he says, "in all of these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." That is the point that we would have that victory that you would overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. I am convinced. I am persuaded. He said that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creative thing, will be able to separate us from the love of Christ, love of God, which is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
See, in other words, in this difficult, troubled world, you will be tested. Your faith will be tested severely. One of the things that I know is that faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted. See, in other words, if you did a study through the Scriptures, you would find that those whom God used the most were those went through the greatest troubles. You can see many, many examples. Joseph, one of the great examples. All the troubles that he endured, but God used those troubles to bring about his very purpose. God used Joseph for great things.
Elijah, David, Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, on and on and on. The great men and women of the Bible were the ones that God used most, but they suffered the most. God gives principles in His word to strengthen faith in those difficult trials. He will build a foundation of faith in your life so that when those troubles come, your faith will have been strengthened in advance. Even right now, God is doing this. God is strengthening your faith right now through His word.
God is using these current struggles that you're going through, these trials that you are enduring. God is strengthening you in advance. Now, our story unfolds in the Southern Kingdom of Israel, of Judah, and the backstory is that Assyria now is a rising world-dominating power, and they were infamous for their terrible cruelty with absolute cruelty. They were destroying nation after nation, city after city. Now, by this time in the history of Israel, the Northern Kingdom there in Israel has already been destroyed by Assyria.
They had done to Israel in the North what they had done to so many other nations. After defeating them, they carried them away to a distant place, causing them to lose their national identity, to simply disappear amongst the nations or the populations of the world. After Assyria took captive and defeated Northern Kingdom of Israel, they turned to the South to Judah, where Hezekiah was king, intending to destroy and consume Judah as well. Sennacherib, who was the king of Assyria in those days he sent officers to strike fear, to intimidate in a war of words those in Jerusalem.
Now, by this point, they had surrounded Jerusalem. They were being besieged, and so this encounter now between Hezekiah and Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, becomes a monumental turning point in the history of the nation and therefore the history of the world. Because if they had been defeated, if they had been displaced and taken away to another place, and then a foreign people brought in to take their place in that land, all of the promises of God would've come to nothing, and it would impact the world today.
In fact, all the prophecies of Scripture in the Scriptures revealed the latter days would be impacted. This is a monumental turning point in the history of Israel, and it is all about a great spiritual battle, spiritual warfare that's unfolding in the story, and there are many applications for us to take hold of and to live according to. Let's read it. We're going to be in Isaiah 36, and we'll start reading in verse 13. Now, the backstory real quick is that the leaders Rabshakeh, sent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria, started to speak in Judean or Hebrew, and the Israeli leaders say, "No, don't speak to them in Judean. Speak in Aramaic. We understand Aramaic."
They said, "Oh, no, we're absolutely going to speak in Judean or Hebrew because I want the people to hear it." He wanted to strike fear in their hearts. Let's read it. Starting in verse 13. "Then Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in Judean, and he said, 'Now, hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria: that says the king. Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh."
When he says to you, "The Lord will surely deliver us, this city will not be given into the hands of the King of Assyria. Don't listen to him. Don't listen to Hezekiah: for that says the King of Assyria, Make you peace with me. Come out to me. Oh, I'll treat you well. It'll be so good for you. Each one of you, you'll have your own vine. Each one will have your own fig tree. Each one will drink water from your own cistern. Oh, come out to me. It'll be so good." That is verse 17.
"Until I come and take you away, then even then, it won't be so bad. Look, I'll bring you to a land. It's like your own land. It's a land of grain and wine, and the bread and vineyards. Beware. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you when he says, 'The Lord will deliver us.' Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath or Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, and when have they delivered some area from my hand? Who among all the gods of his lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"
Then I love verse 21, "But they were silenced and answered him not a word, for the king's commandment was, 'Do not answer him, not a word.' Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, they came to Hezekiah with their closed torn, and they told him these words of Rabshakeh." Chapter 37 continues. "Then, when the King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes," which is a Hebrew expression of a torn heart, grief, "and covered himself in sackcloth," which is an outward sign of great humility, "and he entered the house of the Lord."
Turning point right here. He enters the house of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, they also covered with sackcloth. He sent them to Isaiah the prophet, the Son of Amoz. They said to him, 'Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress and rebuke and rejection, for children have come to birth and there's no strength to deliver.'" That's an expression. "Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to reproach the living God. Perhaps he will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, pray, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left."
The servants of Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them, 'Thus you shall say to your master, Thus says Yahweh, "Do not be afraid because of the words that you've heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword there in his own land."'" Now, we'll look at the other verses, of course, but I want us to go over these and see principles for us to take hold of in overcoming, overwhelming victory. In a war of words, abide in the truth.
I. In a War of Words – Abide in the Truth
There's an old maxim that has been spoken regarding war for many, many years, all the way back in the Greek days. The maxim of war is the first casualty of war is truth. The second casualty of war, he intends here to be, is faith. Truth is very important. The opening strategy here is straightforward. To cause their faith in God to be shaken, so he could overtake them. They would surrender without a fight. He challenges their faith. He's misleading you when he says that the Lord your God would deliver you from the hand of the king. Don't let him deceive you. Don't let him mislead you like this. Don't believe him. Now, this is the same strategy that the enemy of your soul uses today.
A. The promises of the enemy are empty
If he can shake your faith, if they can cause you to lose confidence in who God is in your life, then your own fear will defeat you, and you'll give up without a fight. Therefore, understand the great principles of victory that are revealed. Notice, for example, that the promises of the enemy are empty, a strategy of spiritual warfare. Shake their confidence, shake their faith in the Lord, striking fear in their hearts, and then to soothe those fears, gives promises, promises that are empty, "Oh, make peace with me. Come out to me. Oh, it'll be so good for you. I'll treat you so well. Each of you will have your own vine, your own fig tree, your own water with your own cistern. Oh, it'll be so good until I come and take you away."
See, it's the same strategy, the enemy today to try to convince people of how good life would be if they just gave up their faith, if they just surrendered, if they just came to the world and surrendered to the enemy's plan for their life. "Oh, life would be so much more exciting over here in the world. You are missing out on all the fun. Oh, the world is where you can live. That's where life can be found. Oh, there's no death here. It will all be good," until they come and take you away.
In the original sin of man, wasn't that the very strategy that the serpent used with Eve? Did he not try to drive a wedge between her and God? Notice Genesis 3:4-5. It says, "The serpent said to the woman, 'You surely will not die.'" Remember what the woman had said to him, "God says that the day that we eat of this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God says, the day that we eat of it, we will die."
The enemy says, "That's not true. He's not telling you the truth. God is not telling you the truth. You won't die. God knows that the day that you eat of it, that your eyes will be open and that you'll be like God, knowing good and evil. He's insecure. He just doesn't want you to be like him." He drives a wedge between her and God, making her doubt, it's not true, and then offers her something. He says, "It is better, you can be like God, knowing good and evil."
In other words, why should God determine what's good and evil? You should be able to determine what's evil. Why should He be the master? You can be the master. If the enemy promises that he can make you happier, more satisfied in life, that you'll have more fun, more joy, more abundance in the world, then we need to see for what it is, a life in the pit of hell.
B. Sometimes silence is the best answer
God's truth is greater. Therefore, here's a great principle: sometimes silence is the best answer. In this war of words, he's casting doubt. He is trying to instill fear, giving false promises about how good life would be if they just surrendered to this cruel nation. He's trying to shipwreck their faith. Then it's clear that Sennacherib didn't know what he was talking about. He's speaking of Hezekiah's reforms as if they were something bad. In fact, these reforms of Hezekiah are the very things that God used to bring a great revival.
What good would it do to try to give the enemy a lesson in truth? Does the enemy even value the truth? Would he even be swayed if he heard the truth? No, the truth means nothing to the enemy, which is a life lesson itself. Don't debate with someone who doesn't value the truth. Amen? Don't debate with someone who doesn't value the truth. Many of you remember in the early days of this ongoing conflict within Russia and Ukraine, that in Russia, journalists were threatened with 15 years in prison if they reported fake news.
Truth is the first casualty of war. They were threatened if they used such word like war or invasion. They were trying to convince, "Oh no, there's no war there. It is not what you think it is. There's no war there. It's just a military operation." They kept using that phrase over and over and over, "Oh, we just insist." They kept using the same phrase over and over and over: "It's just a military operation." To quote from the movie The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya who said, "You keep using that word, but I do not think that it means what you think it means."
I love that quote. Don't debate with someone who doesn't value the truth. In the garden, wasn't it Eve debating with the serpent that got her into trouble? Jesus had very clear words to say about the enemy when it comes to the truth. By the way, it comes out of John 8:44. You want to see a chapter of fireworks? It's John 8. He's in a conflict with the leaders of Israel.
C. Truth will set you free
At one point, he says, "You are like your father, the devil." This is fireworks. Then he says in John 8, speaking of the devil, "He does not stand in the truth because there's no truth in him. He doesn't value the truth because there's no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he's speaking from his own nature, for he's a liar and the father of lies. The enemy doesn't value the truth, and because I speak the truth, that's why you don't believe me." Hezekiah told the people, "Do not answer him a word, not a single word."
There are times when silence is the most powerful response. Don't engage with someone who doesn't value the truth. Truth is powerful. You must value the truth because the truth will set you free. In times of trouble, in times of difficulty, stand on the truth. John, chapter 8, speaking of John 8, he says, "If you'll abide in my word, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Two great truths. Romans 10:17, "Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ."
In other words, hearing comes from abiding in the truth. Faith comes from abiding in the truth. Luke 8:15. "The seed in the good soil, those who produce the fruit of the good soil, these are the ones who've heard the word, but they heard the word with an honest and good heart. They are the ones who hold fast to the truth, and they are the ones who will bear fruit of it and persevere." Notice this, then, as we go back to our story, that God's help is your strength.
II. God’s Help is Your Strength
Hezekiah knew that Assyria would surely come and attack them. He knew, therefore, that he needed to strengthen the faith of the people in advance. Revival prepares the way. He knew he needed to strengthen them, so he gathered them together. 2 Chronicles 32 says, he said, "Be strong and courageous, then. Do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of the multitude with him." Then he says, "For the one with us is greater than the one with him."
This is strengthening of faith. The one with us is greater than the one with him, "--for with him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." This is the great truth. With us is the Lord our God. This is a fundamental understanding of spiritual conflict, and it's personal. It's meant to be understood in a personal way. Here's what I mean. When Jesus stands at the door and knocks, Jesus said this in Revelation 3, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. I will sup with him, and he with me."
We're going to have relationship, but notice this. If anyone opens the door of his heart, I will come in. When you open the door of your heart, when you invite Jesus into your life, you have invited the Lion from the Tribe of Judah to take up residence in your life. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. You have opened the door, and the Lion from the Tribe of Judah has now taken residence in your life. He is now the strong man, and that's a very important spiritual phrase. He is now the strong man in your life now.
Notice 1 John 4:4. "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them," overcome the world, "because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." It's a principle in the Old and in the New Testament. This, by the way, is the reason that Christians cannot be possessed by demon. You may be greatly troubled or distressed or tempted, but Jesus is greater than all the demonic realm. Here's my point. At one point in the Gospels, Jesus was casting out demons.
The leaders of Israel were concerned because this power and this authority that Jesus had over the spiritual powers and forces of darkness was so amazing that the crowd was being won over, and the Jewish leaders did not want this. They accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the lord of the flies, another name for Satan himself. What follows is an answer that Jesus gives that reveals tremendous insight into spiritual warfare and our own spiritual victory.
Luke 11:17 and 22. He says, in other words, this doesn't even make sense, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, it is laid waste. A house divided against itself falls." Jesus says, "Look, if Satan is divided against himself, how then will his kingdom stand? Since you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. If I cast out demons by the finger of God or by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you," then he explains the principle. This is a very important understanding.
He says, now look, "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are undisturbed, but when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away all the armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder." Jesus there is explaining the nature of spiritual warfare. He's explaining how he's casting out these demons. He's explaining that when a person has a demon, when he has the demonic in his life, Satan is a strong man, Satan is controlling that person's life.
When a person opens the door of their heart to Jesus Christ, Jesus binds that strong man, or Satan, and then takes up residence in the house. We understand the principle. If someone wants to break into my house in the middle of the night, I'm going to address it, I'm going to confront it. There's a strong man in the house. Actually, our son is living with us now. Our son, who was in the Marines and Special Forces for nine years, is in our house now. I'm calling my son.
My point is there's a strong man in the house, that's the point. That strong man is going to confront the intruder. Jesus explains, when a person is a demon, the strong man is Satan. Jesus confronts and defeats that strong man, Satan, and then, when a person opens the door of their heart, Jesus takes residence in that person's life. I submit to you that if Jesus has taken up residence in your life, and in your heart, and in your soul, that Jesus is the strong man in that house now.
If Jesus is the strong man in your life now, the Lion from the Tribe of Judah has taken up residence. There is no power or effect of spiritual darkness that can overcome him. For with one word of his power, he can defeat the forces of spiritual darkness. Greater is he who is with us, greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world. Do you understand, he's saying, the significance of Jesus taking up residence in your life?
Someone once wanted to debate this with me, and I said, "Clearly, you must understand that Jesus and a demon are not going to live in the same house." The person says, "Why not?" I said, "Because Jesus is not going to have it. He's going to get that demonic force out of the house. If Jesus is in the house, he's going to clean the house, and he's going to be the strong man in that house," Amen? Can we give God praise.
Exactly right. Hezekiah understood this truth. That's why he's strengthening them in their faith, believe. Greater is he who is with us. Do not be afraid, and then, notice he took action. He did something about it. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and he entered into the house of the Lord. Then it tells us that the king of Assyria sent a letter directly to King Hezekiah. This letter was an insult, a direct confront of the God of Israel.
A. God is pleased with sincere prayer
Hezekiah, in fact, let's read it, Isaiah 37, starting in verse 14, "Hezekiah took this letter from the hand of the messengers, read it, and then went up to the house of the Lord," and I love this, "and he spread it out before the Lord." It's like he laid it out on the floor, spread it all out, and he said to the Lord, "Read it." Then Hezekiah prayed. This prayer, which is famously called the prayer of Hezekiah, is a turning point. He says this, verse 16, "Oh Lord of hosts--" By the way, this is a great way to start a prayer, because Lord of hosts is a specific title of God. It means captain of the armies of heaven.
It's an expression of tremendous power and authority over the armies of heaven. Captain of the armies of heaven. "Lord Sabaoth, God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God and you alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands.
They've have cast their gods into the fire, because they were not gods at all but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they've destroyed them. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you and you alone, Lord, are God." This is a great prayer. Then it says, verse 21, "Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent word to Hezekiah, and he says, Notice, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Because you prayed--" This is really important. "Because you have prayed to Me about the King of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him."'"
He's going to give this very powerful word against the King of Assyria. Notice, "Because you have prayed to me about this." See, never discount the significance of prayer. This is one of the great words to convince us. Never discount the significance, the power of prayer, because God is pleased with sincere prayer. "Because you have prayed." He says later, to summarize, "I will put a hook in his nose, I'll put a bridle in his lips, and I will turn him back by the way in which he came." He says, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this."
B. Fervent prayer availeth much
It's as though the Lord is saying to Hezekiah, "Exactly right. This is right. When you encounter a great trouble, when you encounter a great difficulty, you prayed. Because you prayed, God moved." Oh, this is a powerful understanding. He put on sackcloth. He tore his clothes. These are outward symbols of an inward reality. The point is, the inward reality, in other words, "Fervent prayer availeth much." "Fervent prayer," I'll use the King James here, "availeth much."
It's a turning point in the history of the nation. Because you have prayed, God places power on prayer in spiritual warfare, and therefore, spiritual victory. It comes from James 5:16: "The fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much." What does it mean "the fervent prayer"? It doesn't mean that you stomp your feet, or clap your hands, or shout with a loud voice. There's nothing wrong with any of those things. That's not what he means. What he means is, he's speaking of the sincere, the sincerity of the authentic heart behind the prayer.
The disciples, they saw the relationship that Jesus had with his Father, and they saw the prayers that Jesus had with his Father, and they connected the two together. They said to Jesus, "Teach us that. We want to know that. Teach us to pray." Never discount the significance and the importance of prayer. It's an acknowledgment that your point of strength is not the armament on which you rely; it's God on which you rely. God is the strength of your heart. God is that which stands with you in the conflict. Greater is he who is with you than he who is in the world.
2nd Corinthians 10 says, "Though we walk in the flesh, we don't war according to flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." God moves because you pray. Notice this. Look back to Isaiah 37, and look at verse 34. He says, "By the way that he came, by the same he shall return; he will not come to this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it for my sake, and for the sake of my servant, David."
Then he says, "Then the angel of the Lord went out, and struck a 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the men arose early the next morning, behold, all of these were dead." They did not even lift a sword. They awoke in the morning and looked out, and they saw 185,000 dead. What is interesting is that this is also listed in the annals of history outside of the Bible. What an amazing answer to Hezekiah's prayer.
God moves because people pray. For greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. You open your heart, and you ask the Lord Jesus in to your heart. He takes up residence in your life, and the favor of God and the hand of God rests upon you. For greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. Father, we love you and thank you for strengthening us in our faith to know, to understand that when a person opens the door to their heart, they've invited the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, to live in their heart and in their soul, and that greater is he, therefore, who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Today, as we're praying, as we continue to pray, how many would say, "I opened my heart. I want that in my life. I want the Lord to be in my heart and in my life. I need God in my life. I'm opening my heart. I hear you calling my voice. God, I'm opening my heart. Come into my life. I want to stand on this rock. I want this relationship to God that you have made possible through your Son, Jesus Christ. God, I'm asking that you would do this. I'm opening the door to my heart"? Is that you? Would you say that to the Lord? I want to just pray for you and agree with you in the name of the Lord Jesus.
If God is speaking to your heart, and you would say to him, "I'm opening the door to my heart, God. Come in and take up residence in my life." Is that you? I want to pray for you. Would you just lift your hand, and I can just agree with you in prayer. God bless you. God bless you. Anyone else? God bless you over there. God bless you over there in the middle on the right. God bless you. Anyone else? All the way back. I see you there. God bless you all the way. I see you, friend. Anyone else? I see you right there, too. God bless you. Anyone else? I want to just pray for you.
God, I want to just pray for everyone who lifted their hands as a prayer of saying to you, "God, I want you in my life. I'm opening my heart. Forgive my sin, and draw me to a relationship to you that God would be my Father. I want you to take up residence in my life, that you would be the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in me, that greater is he who is in me, that he's in the world. I want that victory. I want that life." I want to pray for everyone, Lord, who lifted their hands to you today and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. We honor you, and praise you, and give you honor. In Jesus' name, and everyone say-- Can we give God praise and glory? Amen? Amen. Amen.