Isaiah 62:1-3- For
Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will
not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the
dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your
righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor
in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Isaiah models for us how to pray. He said he would not keep silent. He said he
would not stop praying till God had delivered his request….and then some. He was
so on-fire about this need he lifted up in prayer that he had assigned men to
sit on the walls of the city and pray about it too.
It’s an on time reminder that my prayers are not near where
they need to be. I won’t bore you with the details….let’s just say they lack
rigor…consistency….and fervor. They seem
to be strongest when I am asked to pray in a public setting for others….and
wane to meek…short requests when I am alone in my own prayer closet.
Perhaps the answers we think we need are not manifesting
themselves in our lives because we pray for a few days….or weeks….or even
months. But when the human limits of our
patience have been depleted…we let discouragement replace that prayer with the thought
that God may have already answered no.
Luke 18 contains the parable that Jesus used to support Isaiah’s
words here. It is about a persistent widow…who kept going to a judge and
requesting justice in a situation. She
did not stop till the judge gave in to her request. And listen to Ephesians 6:18…. “With all
prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be
on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”
I know that God sometimes says no to what we pray for. Sometimes the answer is no because our human
mind can’t understand that we didn’t need it in the first place. But when our
prayer is for the salvation of another…..like Isaiah’s… he tells us that we
need to cry out to God with a great ache for that need. He tells us to never stop praying….for that
prayer can always be answered.
One last thought is to stretch that passion into praying for
the needs of others. If we take the time to pray to God to lift the burdens
that oppress and keep them depressed…then maybe less tragedies would happen
like Robin Williams. I just bet that he did not have anyone praying for him…so
he continued to plummet into a hole of depression till satan convinced him he
had absolutely no reason to stay on this earth. He chose too to end his life on
his own….not realizing that God was using him to lift the spirit’s of people
around the world.
Father…thank you for the reminder that one of my jobs for
you is to pray for the salvation of others. Forgive me for not having enough passion
in my prayers. Help me to add persistence and a deep desire to see your glory shine down on others so
bright that they can’t help but see the truth. I pray for the depressed in the
world….you know all their names. Use the
world-wide coverage of this sad event to trigger a massive change in the way we
pray for others around us…especially the ones we see struggling with
happiness. Don’t let anyone slip through
the cracks ….let what satan meant for harm and evil be used to shine your light
of love even brighter. Amen.
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