Isaiah Chapter 38 – A Prayer that Changed the Clock
Isaiah Chapter 38 brings us into a deeply personal moment in the life of King Hezekiah—a faithful king suddenly confronted with death. But instead of accepting the final word, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and pours out his heart before God. The result? Time itself is turned back. This chapter reminds us that even when death is near, prayer can move heaven.
From Deathbed to Deliverance: The Power of Earnest Prayer
✔ Hezekiah receives a death sentence from Isaiah.
✔ He prays earnestly, reminding God of his walk in truth.
✔ God answers immediately and grants him 15 more years.
✔ A miraculous sign—the sun moves backward on the dial.
✔ Hezekiah pens a psalm reflecting on mortality and mercy.
📖 Isaiah 38:5 – “Thus saith the Lord… I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.”
🔎 God’s ear is never far from the humble. He sees, He hears, and He acts.
Isaiah Chapter 38 - Overview
Isaiah 38:1–3 – A Sentence of Death
📖 Isaiah 38:1 – “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet… said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”
🔎 Hezekiah wasn’t just facing illness—he was receiving divine finality. This moment confronts every soul with life’s fragility. Yet God’s warning wasn’t cruel—it was merciful. It gave Hezekiah time to prepare spiritually and practically.
📖 Isaiah 38:2 – “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord.”
🔎 What do we do when death comes knocking? Hezekiah doesn’t run to men—he turns his face from distraction to the wall, a symbol of shutting out the world and seeking only God.
📖 Isaiah 38:3 – “Remember now… how I have walked before thee in truth… and have done that which is good… And Hezekiah wept sore.”
🔎 This wasn’t a boast—it was a broken appeal. Hezekiah’s life had pursued God, and he cried not from entitlement, but from desperation. His heart was exposed—and heaven listened.
➡️ When we turn fully to God, without filters or performances, our tears become prayers—and our prayers become power.
Isaiah 38:4–8 – God Reverses the Clock
📖 Isaiah 38:4–5 – “Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah… I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.”
🔎 Heaven responded immediately. God didn’t just see Hezekiah’s condition—He saw his heart. The Lord isn’t deaf to brokenness or blind to tears. The very sentence of death is reversed by humble prayer.
📖 Isaiah 38:6 – “And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria…”
🔎 God’s answer goes beyond healing. Hezekiah’s personal prayer triggers national deliverance. When a leader seeks the Lord, his intercession protects more than himself.
📖 Isaiah 38:7 – “And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord…”
🔎 God, knowing the frailty of the human heart, gives Hezekiah assurance—a visible confirmation that His word can be trusted. Signs are not a lack of faith—they are a grace for the weak.
📖 Isaiah 38:8 – “Behold, I will bring again the shadow… ten degrees backward…”
🔎 Time is in God’s hand. The backward movement of the sun wasn’t just a sign—it was a divine reset. The One who created light rewinds its course to reassure His servant.
➡️ No moment is too late for God. He can redeem time, reverse the impossible, and turn back the clock—for His glory and your growth.
Isaiah 38:9–20 – A King’s Song of the Grave and Grace
📖 Isaiah 38:9 – “The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.”
🔎 This song is not a political proclamation—it’s a personal psalm. Hezekiah didn’t just experience healing; he reflected on it with poetic worship, giving voice to his valley and his victory.
📖 Isaiah 38:10–11 – “I shall not see the Lord… I shall behold man no more…”
🔎 Facing death, Hezekiah feared separation—from the temple, from people, and from the land of the living. His grief reveals how deeply human it is to dread departure before one’s purpose feels fulfilled.
📖 Isaiah 38:12–13 – “Mine age is departed… I reckoned till morning… he breaketh all my bones…”
🔎 Death felt like a storm ripping his life from its moorings. His metaphors—like a shepherd’s tent or weaver’s cloth—express how fragile and temporary life is apart from God’s sustaining grace.
📖 Isaiah 38:15–17 – “What shall I say?… Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit…”
🔎 His tone shifts. The pit becomes a platform. He realizes that God’s correction, though painful, was an act of love. Healing became more than mercy—it became transformation.
📖 Isaiah 38:18–20 – “The grave cannot praise thee… the living… shall praise thee, as I do this day…”
🔎 Hezekiah honors life by using it to worship. His deliverance demanded a response—not just in song, but in testimony for generations to come. His voice became a vessel of God’s glory.
➡️ Don’t let your testimony remain silent. What God delivers you from should become your praise. Let your pain produce a psalm.
Isaiah Chapter 38 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Mortality to Mercy
🔹 Timeframe: During Hezekiah’s reign, shortly before Assyria’s fall.
🔹 Setting: Hezekiah’s palace in Jerusalem.
🔹 Theme: Prayer, healing, divine mercy, the fragility of life.
🔹 Connection to Christ: Christ, too, faced death—but conquered it for all. Hezekiah’s healing foreshadows resurrection power.
When Time Stands Still
Hezekiah’s story reminds us: God hears the humble. When the clock of life seemed to stop, God moved with mercy—not only to heal, but to reveal His heart toward those who trust in Him.
🔹 Don’t waste affliction—use it to cry out.
🔹 Don’t forget to praise—healing deserves a song.
🔹 Don’t let fear define your prayers—let faith guide them.
🔹 Don’t ignore your years—set your house in order.
🔹 Don’t doubt divine mercy—it bends time for love.
➡️ A single prayer can turn the tide. When the world gives a final word, God can still speak again.
Key Takeaways
🔑 God responds to sincere, humble prayer.
🔑 Hezekiah’s tears moved heaven—so can ours.
🔑 Divine healing is more than physical—it’s spiritual.
🔑 Worship is the right response to mercy.
🔑 Every extra day is a gift—use it wisely.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Hezekiah’s healing mirrors resurrection life given through Christ.
🔮 The shadow turning back parallels time reversal in Revelation themes.
🔮 Prayer that changes outcomes reveals God’s interactive mercy.
🔮 Songs of praise after healing mirror Psalms and New Testament hymns.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Kings were expected to be strong; illness was seen as weakness. Hezekiah’s prayer showed where true strength lies.
📜 Sun dials (like Ahaz’s) were rare and symbolic—used to measure divine intervention.
📜 Songs of healing and deliverance were culturally important forms of testimony.
📜 Isaiah played a dual role—prophet and divine messenger in the court.
Present-Day Reflection: What Would You Do With 15 More Years?
Hezekiah wept—and God listened. The shadow on the dial moved back, and fifteen years were added to his life. Imagine being granted such a gift. What would you do differently? How would you live?
🔹 Don’t wait for a miracle to praise—worship now.
🔹 Don’t assume tomorrow—cherish today.
🔹 Don’t hoard time—spend it for His glory.
🔹 Don’t resist God’s correction—embrace its purpose.
🔹 Don’t leave your house in disorder—live ready.
➡️ Mercy gave Hezekiah more time. You woke up today—what will you do with yours?
💡 Final Reflection: What Will Your Song Say?
Hezekiah’s life was a scroll—and God added pages. When the end seemed certain, mercy rewrote the script.
📌 Is your story ruled by fear—or faith?
📌 Are your tears silent—or calling to heaven?
📌 Is your life a complaint—or a praise?
📖 Isaiah 38:19 – “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day…”
🔥 Use your life to write songs of worship—for you are still living.
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery
Isa 38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
Isa 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
Isa 38:3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Isa 38:4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
Isa 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
Isa 38:6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
Isa 38:7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;
Isa 38:8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
Isa 38:9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
Isa 38:10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
Isa 38:11 I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
Isa 38:12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
Isa 38:13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
Isa 38:14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
Isa 38:15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
Isa 38:16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
Isa 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
Isa 38:19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
Isa 38:20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
Isa 38:21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
Isa 38:22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?
Date Written
740–700 BC
Written By
The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz
Language
Hebrew
Verses
22