Isaiah 36-40

“On what are you basing this confidence of yours?” (36:4). Like the serpent in the garden, the field commander of the Assyrian armies tried to get Judah’s leaders to doubt God’s power and goodness. He questioned if the God of Abraham was any stronger than the gods of the nations which had already fallen to Assyria’s might. But King Hezekiah, although frightened, believed that God was real, while idols “were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands” (37:19). The true God would deliver them.

“Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord” (37:17). When we pray – despite our fears and doubts – we demonstrate our belief that God is real, and he hears us.