“God Has Heard Your Prayer And Seen Your Tears!(II Kgs.20:1-7)
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. 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.’ 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. 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. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. ‘I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”‘ Then Isaiah said, ‘Prepare a poultice of figs.’ They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.”
This may not be documented anywhere, and I may not have phrased it the same way the person put it. When Madiba Mandela died, someone said a befitting epitaph for Mandela should read: Here lies a man who could rule a big country but could not put his house in order. We know why that person said so!
It is not only kings who have to put their houses in order.
A one-time Mungaka comedian said that when a polygamous father is sick near to death, one mother will keep telling the son, “Stay by your father’s bedside.” Each morning, she will ask the Son, “Has your Father told you anything?” If the response is negative, she’ll continue to encourage the son to stay by his father’s bedside. On the day the son tells her, “My Father has said…” she’ll no longer encourage the child to stay by the father’s bedside.
Once a man has spoken his will, people don’t care again whether he lives or dies.
When Isaiah first came to King Hezekiah, he had a message of death, so he asked Hezekiah to put his house in order. Hezekiah understood this to mean, “Speak or dictate your will because you are going to die.” Hezekiah was young. He was thirty four years old when he fell ill.
Hezekiah “did right in the eyes of the LORD,”(II Kgs 18:3) and there was no reason why the LORD wanted to exit him at such a tender age.
That notwithstanding, the message of the text is direct: God hears and answers the prayer of a contrite and penitent heart. In the case of Hezekiah God heard his prayer, healed him with the use of poultice and added fifteen years to his life.
Even so, King Hezekiah was healed from the place of grace because without grace, genuine repentance can still meet a stonewall of unforgiveness!
My friend, in as much as God’s grace is availably sufficient, when we are faced with near-death situations, we should pray to God with tears. God will hear our prayers and see our tears. He will answer us and heal us.
Put your house in order not dwelling on the temporary, but on spiritual restoration for a holistic wellbeing.
Prayer of the day and week: Heavenly Father, when in distress I call to you, hear my prayer, see my tears and answer me. Amen!
Welcome back to a new working day and week! Have a blessed day and week! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
24/08/2026.