Hezekiah did not conclude that it was useless to pray, as though the prophetic message had made death inevitable. If we pray, God may be able to do for us that which He could not do if we did not pray. Requests for healing, however, must be made in the spirit of submission. God alone knows whether the answering of a petition will work for the good of those concerned and redound to His glory. In praying for the sick some have made the mistake of almost demanding that the life of the sufferer be given to them. In many instances the lives of those who were thus spared did not bring glory to God. It would have been better for these souls to have passed to their rest while the hope of salvation was theirs (see 2T 148, 149). The extension of Hezekiah’s life led to the one great mistake in the king’s life (vs. 12-19). If he had added to his prayer “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39), he might have died with his life’s record unblemished.