Breakthrough Prayers: When You Turn Your Face to the Wall (Hezekiah)
Main Text: 2 Kings 20:1-11
Hezekiah teaches us that breakthrough prayer is not about manipulating God. Breakthrough is about humbling ourselves before God with faith, sincerity, and complete dependence. His prayer changed the outcome of what appeared to be a final verdict.
Everyone eventually faces a "wall." Sometimes it is:
- A medical diagnosis
- A financial crisis
- A broken marriage
- A rebellious child
- A church challenge
- A dream that seems to be dying
Walls remind us that our strength has limits - but God's power does not.
Hezekiah's greatest breakthrough did not begin with a miracle. It began with a prayer.
2 Kings 20:1-3a (MSG) Sometime later Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, paid him a visit and said, "Put your affairs in order; you're about to die - you haven't long to live." Hezekiah turned from Isaiah and faced God, praying...
Phase 1: Turn Away from People and Turn Toward God
The wall became his prayer closet. He wasn't ignoring people - he was eliminating distractions.
Matthew 6:6 (AMP) But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 (AMP) Then you will call on Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Mark 14:32 (NLT) They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, "Sit here while I go and pray."
Private prayer produces public power.
We must have a relationship with God prior to our crisis situation.
2 Kings 20:3b (MSG) Remember, O God, who I am, what I've done! I've lived an honest life before you, my heart's been true and steady; I've lived to please you; lived for your approval. And then the tears flowed. Hezekiah wept.
The Anatomy of a 30-Word Prayer
There were only thirty words in Hezekiah's prayer, but they brought an answer that gave him fifteen more years to live and reign in Judah.
The three arguments Hezekiah used to plead his case:
- I have walked before you in truth.
- I've walked before you with a perfect heart.
- I've done that which is good in your sight.
These arguments formed the basis of Hezekiah's request to live, and Jehovah recognized them, for they were true.
Isaiah 43:26 (AMP) "Remind Me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together; state your position, that you may be proved right."
2 Kings 18:3 (AMP) Hezekiah did right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that David his father (ancestor) had done.
Phase 2: Anchor Your Confidence
Hezekiah appealed to God's mercy and covenant. He knew who he was praying to.
Numbers 23:19 (AMP) "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?"
Principle: Your confidence isn't in your circumstances. It's in God's character.
Isaiah, leaving, was not halfway across the courtyard when the word of God stopped him. God gave a quick answer.
James 5:16 (AMP) The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God - it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
2 Kings 20:5 (MSG) "Go back and tell Hezekiah, prince of my people, 'God's word, Hezekiah! From the God of your ancestor David: I've listened to your prayer, and I've observed your tears. I'm going to heal you. In three days you will walk on your own legs into the Temple of God.'"
This is a clear example of a prophetic word being changed to an answered prayer.
Tears Are a Language God Understands
God noticed both. He heard words. He saw tears.
Romans 8:26 (AMP) In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.
2 Kings 20:6 (MSG) "I've just added fifteen years to your life; I'm saving you from the king of Assyria, and I'm covering this city with my shield - for my sake and my servant David's sake."
This suggests the real reason for Hezekiah's prayer. He had no heir to the throne but remembered Jehovah's word to David, as recorded in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Manasseh was not born until three years later.
2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NLT) For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house - a temple - for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.
2 Kings 21:1 (AMP) - Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
Believe God Can Reverse the Verdict
Isaiah had already delivered the message: "You shall die." Yet prayer changed the outcome.
Principle: God has the final word.
- Doctors diagnose. God determines.
- People predict. God provides.
Illustration: Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus still called him out. If God can resurrect the dead, He can revive your situation.
Some have a diagnosis. Some say there is destiny. The doctor's report is important - but God's report is ultimate.
Read Isaiah 53:1
2 Kings 20:7 (MSG) Isaiah then said, "Prepare a plaster of figs." They prepared the plaster, applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah was on his way to recovery.
The plaster of figs was for cleansing purposes, only to draw out the corruption from the boil - not to be the cause of the fifteen years that had already been added to his life.
Phase 3: Receive God's Instructions
Isaiah instructed them to apply a poultice of figs. God performed the miracle. People applied the treatment.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].
Principle: Faith obeys God's instructions, even when they seem ordinary. Miracles often come through obedience.
Naaman had to dip seven times. The blind man had to wash in the pool. Obedience unlocks blessing.
2 Kings 20:8-11 (MSG) Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "How do I know whether this is of God and not just the fig plaster? What confirming sign is there that God is healing me and that in three days I'll walk into the Temple of God on my own legs?" "This will be your sign from God," said Isaiah, "that God is doing what he said he'd do: Do you want the shadow to advance ten degrees on the sundial or go back ten degrees? You choose." Hezekiah said, "It would be easy to make the sun's shadow advance ten degrees. Make it go back ten degrees." So Isaiah called out in prayer to God, and the shadow went back ten degrees on Ahaz's sundial.
Time said Hezekiah was finished. But God added fifteen more years.
Psalm 31:15 "My times are in Your hands."
The One who holds your time also holds your future.
Turn to the Wall
Everyone carrying a burden is invited to come before God today.
- What wall have you been staring at?
- What report has discouraged you?
- What impossible situation needs God's intervention?
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."
The wall in front of you is not greater than the God beside you. The God who heard Hezekiah's prayer still hears the prayers of His people today.
A child sleeps peacefully during a storm because he trusts his father. Faith rests in God's faithfulness.
Weekly Scriptures
Jeremiah 33:3 (AMP) "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
Ephesians 3:20 (AMP) "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."
Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].
James 5:16 (AMP) The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God - it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
Numbers 23:19 (AMP) "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?"
Isaiah 43:26 (AMP) "Remind Me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together; state your position, that you may be proved right."
Romans 8:26 (AMP) In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.
Matthew 6:6 (AMP) But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
Mark 14:32 (NLT) They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, "Sit here while I go and pray."
Jeremiah 29:12-13 (AMP) Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Psalm 31:15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
Discussion Questions
- Hezekiah "turned his face to the wall" to get alone with God rather than being distracted by people around him. What distractions tend to pull you away from private prayer when you're facing a crisis, and what would it look like to eliminate them this week?
- Hezekiah could point to a life of walking in truth before God prior to his crisis. How would you describe the health of your relationship with God right now, before your next "wall" shows up? What's one practice you could build into your routine to strengthen that foundation?
- God noticed both Hezekiah's words and his tears. Is there a burden you've been carrying that you haven't fully brought to God in prayer - not just mentioning it, but weeping over it? What would it take to bring that raw honesty before Him?
- The message says, "Doctors diagnose, God determines. People predict, God provides." Think of a report or prediction in your life right now that feels final. What would it look like to hold that report loosely while trusting God's report is ultimate?
- God worked through Isaiah's instruction to apply a fig plaster, even though the fifteen years had already been granted. Where might God be asking you to take a practical step of obedience right now, even if it seems small or ordinary compared to the miracle you're hoping for?