The king was about to die. There was no way around this fact. It was as certain as it could be. King Hezekiah had become ill and was at the point of death. He laid in his bed most likely wondering if this was it for him.

That’s when the prophet Isaiah came into his room. Could this be the great news Hezekiah was hoping for? Was God about to bring healing to his body? I’m sure even in the midst of his sickness, there would have been a feeling of hope as God’s servant walked into the room. Isaiah made his way across the room as the anticipation grew. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

What a crushing blow! Where is a man to turn when his health is gone and God confirms he isn’t going to live much longer? The depths of despair threatening to overwhelm him, Hezekiah did the only thing that he could do. He called out to the Lord.

“Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

Brokenhearted, he cried out to the Lord. It wasn’t a long prayer and it wasn’t filled with elaborate language. It was just one heartfelt sentence before Hezekiah’s emotions overcame him and he broke down into tears. Hezekiah was in the depths of despair as he wept bitterly. There was nothing left that he could do.

I know these feelings that Hezekiah had are not completely foreign to us. The situation may be different that brings us to the point of despair, but we are familiar with how it feels. We too have cried out to the Lord. We too have been unable to speak through the shedding of tears. We too have been waiting for that glimmer of hope to pull through only for it to seem to slip away. In these times, we wonder if God has even noticed us. Is he listening? Does he care? I’m sure Hezekiah was thinking these same things.

2 Kings 20:4-5 tells us that, “Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.”

Did you catch that? I have heard your prayer and seen your tears! Isaiah wasn’t even off the property when God answered! In his amazing love, there is not a single person that God does not care about and there is not a single prayer that goes unnoticed. God hears them all and sees your heart when you are too brokenhearted to speak!

I don’t know what you might be going through today or what tomorrow may hold for you but whatever it may be, pour your heart out to him. Find comfort in these words spoken by Isaiah so long ago because they are as true for you today as they were for Hezekiah then. Our prayers never fall on deaf ears for God is compassionate and loving beyond what we can begin to fathom!