A Biblical Lesson: Hezekiah Prayed, Asking God not to Let Him Die

In 2005, a very good friend of mine received bad news from her doctor. She was told that she had cancer of the liver, and there was almost nothing that could be done to stop the disease from spreading.

She quit her job and decided to take the time needed to see specialist. One of the specialists has been able to stop the spread of the cancer, but she still has not been told she has been cured. 

I thought she was not a Christian. I never heard her pray. Never saw her read the Bible and we never talked about the Lord. She and her husband never went to church. Each Sunday morning, they would go out to breakfast. Later, they either spent the remainder of the day relaxing, shopping or taking long drives.b

After she was informed of her illness, I began to receive enormous amounts of religious emails. Beautiful is just a minimal description of most of the emails. Some made me want to fall down on my knees in prayer. I was overcome with the spirit just by reading the first words of these emails.b

Some of the emails would be a reminder of God's goodness. Sometimes reminding the reader of His love and healing power. Others would be those reminding us that He has all power, but sometimes it is simply not His will to heal us.

My friends dilemma and some of the emails reminded me of the prayer of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the thirteenth king of Judah. His followers described him as being a great king. Hezekiah reigned from 715 BC through 687 BC. He was the great grandson of King Uzziah.

According to the book of 2^nd Kings Chapter 20:1-5 Hezekiah received a message from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah came to Hezekiah and told him that he needed to get his house in order. Isaiah explained to Hezekiah that his time to leave earth had come. Isaiah said according to the Lord, Hezekiah was going to die.

Hezekiah began to cry. He cried heavily. He then began to pray. Hezekiah asked God why did he have to die. He reminded God of his obedience. He reminded God that he had been a good man and had been in some cases better than most. He told God that he had walked a straight and narrow path, he had been good and he did everything he could to be obedient to God's will.