Because you prayed

“Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:” - Isaiah 37v21

We will never understand until we get to heaven to see how our prayers work in relation to God’s will and His sovereignty. Sometimes we pray and God gives us just want we desire. Sometimes we pray and we must wait for what seems like a long time. Sometimes we pray and never see what we ask for. How does all this work? Do our prayers really affect God? I wish I knew how it all worked out.

One thing is clear. Sometimes God does act because we pray. Here King Hezekiah was facing the wrath and violence of King Sennacherib. Sennacherib had been pouring out threats against Israel, and the situation looked gloomy. In response Hezekiah took the needs to the Lord. He asked God to do a work and protect the land. After Hezekiah prayed Isaiah came and said “Thus saith the Lord…because you have prayed against Sennacherib…” Isaiah goes on to tell how He is going to judge Sennacherib.
What happened here? I don’t really know, but something happened because Hezekiah prayed. It is not too much to say “prayer works.” What are missing because we are not praying?