Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Fight Your Battles with Prayer | Historical Books | 2 Kings 19:20-37

Episode Date: November 10, 2025

Has your life plan fallen apart? Do you feel surrounded? How do you fight your battles? In today's episode, Keith shares how 2 Kings 19:20-37 encourages us to fight our battles through prayer. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Kings 19:20-37

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. The famous boxer Mike Tyson was asked about his opponent's plan to defeat him in the boxing ring. Tyson responded with one of his best lines. He said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. I'm not sure if he was trying to be funny or intimidating or sarcastic or all three, but he's said something that I think all of us can resonate with.

We have a plan for how our life is. going to go, but then life punches us in the mouth and our plans go out the window. A few years ago, Amazon released the most highlighted passage in all the books that were read on Kindle that year. And it was a passage from the Hunger Games that was highlighted twice as much as any other passage that year. Here's the line from the Hunger Games, because sometimes things happen to people, they're not equipped to deal with them. That was highlighted so often because it really resonated with people. That's how all of us feel about life.

We often feel like we're overwhelmed, that we're not equipped to handle what life throws at us. Any guesses what the most highlighted verse in the Bible was that same year? Well, it was Philippians 4, 6 and 7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. See, that verse was highlighted so frequently because people are looking for hope and peace in the middle of the challenges. They're looking for hope and peace when life punches them in the mouth. We're at a part of Israel's story where they get punched in the mouth,

and it's the Assyrians who do the punching. The Assyrians are the great superpower to the north of Israel, and the Assyrian armies are approaching Jerusalem, and Israel is not equipped to deal with them. When King Hezekiah, the King of Israel, hears the threat about the Assyrian army, he goes straight to the temple to pray. King Hezekiah believes, Proverbs 1810, The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe.

The king of Assyria is a man named Shanakarib, and Shanakurib sends messengers to Jerusalem to stoke the fear of the Israelites. The Assyrian messengers say to King Hezekiah of Judah, do not let the God you depend on deceive you when he says Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the King of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the King of Assyria has done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them? And then he goes on to mention the gods and the nations that the Assyrian army had defeated. So Hezekiah finds himself in a really desperate strait.

Here is the Assyrian army. They have a track record of defeating every military that stands before them. And the Israelite people, they're scared to death. So what Hezekiah does is he gets alone and he prays, and he asks other people in the kingdom to pray with him. He believes what David taught in Psalm 55, cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken. Humanly speaking, Hezekiah had no reason to think. that he would be rescued from the Assyrian army. Here's verse 20. The prophet Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, I have heard your prayer concerning Shannacharab, king of Assyria. See, this is the turning point in the story. God hears Hezekiah's

prayers, and now God is going to fight for Israel. Hezekiah fought the battle on his knees, because he knew that he was weak and helpless to fight his enemies in his own strength. Zechariah 4, says, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. How do you fight your battle? Do you depend on yourself? Or do you call out to God in prayer? Isaiah tells Hezekiah, because you prayed, God will fight for you. Because you prayed, God answered. Because you prayed, God acted. Because you prayed, God defeated your enemy. Because you prayed, God gave you wisdom. because you prayed God gave you strength and endurance and faith. Because you prayed God took away your unwanted desires.

Because you prayed, God sustained you when he didn't take away your unwanted desires. In response to Hezekiah's prayers, Isaiah shares a song about the coming destruction of Assyria. See, Assyria looked like they had everything together. They were in economic and military powerhouse. But Assyria had messed with the wrong nation and the wrong God. King Shanakrib of Assyria thought he was taunted. Jerusalem, but he mocked Israel's God who had the power to destroy him. Isaiah's song also contained encouragement for Hezekiah and the nation of Israel. It says in verse 29, this will be the sign for you,

Hezekiah. This year, you will eat what grows by itself. And the second year, what springs from that? But in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. You see, the threatened Assyrian invasion prevented the Israelites from their work out in the fields. And so many wonder, if they'd have enough food to eat. But what God is saying is that they would have enough for the first two years, and then finally in the third year, they would have an abundant harvest. That was like a living parable, teaching Israel that God would save and protect the nation. Here's verses 30 and 31. Once more, a remnant of the king of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above, for out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish.

this. See, Isaiah concluded his prophecy with a promise that God's holy city would prove to be untouchable. This is what God had to say about King Shanakurab and all the threats that he had made against Jerusalem. Again, the prophet Isaiah, therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria. He will not enter into this city. He will not shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way he came, he will return. He will not enter. this city, declares the Lord, I will defend this city and save it for my sake and the sake of my servant, David. Because Hezekiah prayed, God fought for Israel. And what Isaiah says here is that Shinnakrab would never even attack Jerusalem at all. He wouldn't even be able to shoot a single arrow at the

city. Instead, Shinnakurab would return home to Assyria. Isaiah also explained why this would happen. It's because God is absolutely committed to the promise he made to King David. In fact, his promise still holds true today. God's work in the world today is motivated by the promise that has come to its complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is the son of David. The kingdom of Christ will never fall. The kingdom of God will never come to an end. The kingdom of God will never fail. God's glory will never fade. Isaiah's prophecy about King Chinakrab is confirmed by history. The Assyrian historical record shows that their armies went all the way up to Jerusalem, but they never captured it. The biblical historian offers a brief report of what actually happened. So 2nd Kings 19 ends with

much better news than it began. Verse 35. That night, an angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning, there were all dead bodies. So Shannachryb, King of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew. He returned. He returned. to Nineveh, that was the capital of Assyria, he returned to Nineveh and stayed there. One day while Shinnakrib was worshipping in the temple of his God, his sons killed him. See, the Assyrian army's deaths might have been caused by an outbreak of bubonic plague. The Greek historian Herodotus and the Jewish historian Josephus mentioned a plague of mice. We can't be sure. But in any case, Shenakrib and the few soldiers who remained alive left their dead

on the battlefield, they went back to Nineveh and the king was assassinated by his own sons. And all this happened because Hezekiah prayed. When he was surrounded by his enemies, Hezekiah faithfully prayed for protection and God saved him. What about you? Do you ever feel like you're surrounded by your enemies? How will you fight your battles in your life? Will you fight them in God's power or yours? Will you fight them on your knees? Embrace your helplessness. Call on God. we pray that you would fight our battles, not by our might, not by our wisdom, but by your power, Lord. We trust in you. Amen.