Episode 57: Isaiah 58:6-12
Transcription
Before we pray today, I just want to share my deep thanks with those of you who have purchased my book and let me know how it impacted you. If you haven’t done so, please do. I want to hear from you. I’m so grateful for all that this book is accomplishing and what God is doing. For everyone else, just know that this resource is available to you, a deeply personal look into caregiving and relationships. If you would like to get a copy, you can head over to my website, www.ja-sellers.com, and find a link there for either ebook or paperback. Now, let’s pray.
Isaiah 58:6-12
Today’s verses are:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousnesswill go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and He will say: ‘Here am I.’
If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
Let’s pray together.
LORD, in the days of our mourning, our brokenness, our sickness, our captivity, we turn to You. We are tired of trying so hard to do everything ourselves. We are tired of our own selfishness and the vain striving to make everything okay. We lack what we need to perfect the world and when we look around, we are grieved at what we see.
Help us to listen to You, to hear the words You would speak to us, out of the past, resonating in the present, for all times and all ages and all peoples. Let us be lovers of Your Word and Your commands and Your truths. Convict us of what holds us back from obedience. Help us to remember that it is not about ourselves. What we lack is compassion and outward sight and a willingness to break ourselves for what is right.
God, when I am hungry, help me to share my wealth with others. When I am needy, let me look for needs to fill. When I am weary, let me see how to help others rest. When I feel persecuted, help me to stand up for the rights of others. When I am focused on myself, turn my eyes so that I see what stands outside of my grasping, greedy hands.
And what is the reason that we can do this, God? It’s because You are the supplier of our needs. You are the healer of our illnesses. You are the restorer of our broken parts. You are the lifter of our heads. When we are askers, You are the giver. When we are weeping, You are the comforter. When we are helpless, You are the helper. Whatever we require, You are the source. Help us to remember to look to You first and to rely on You. Then we won’t frantically store up for ourselves, but freely give, because we are dependent on You for all.
We don’t think like this, God. We are hardwired to think of ourselves first. We are taught to make sure that we are taken care of, then we can give whatever little is left over for those in need. But that is not how You operate. Your generous heart gives and gives and never fears lack because You know who You are. And we as Your children, Your followers, can live with the same courage, the same assurance—our help comes from the LORD.
But this is scary and this is hard. It’s not natural for us. Oh, we need Your supernatural help. We need new hearts, new minds, new ways of thinking and living and being. Provide them to us, Jesus. Be our Shepherd, our strong right hand, and the Way we can walk. Teach us to be unafraid, teach us to trust, teach us Your abundant, overflowing hands-outstretched truth. And when we stumble and falter and hold back, turn us again, renew us in Your strength and love and mercy.
What do we need today? Do we need strength, hope, courage, resources, answers, help, healing, restoration, peace, or comfort? Jesus, provide it for us. Provide it so we may provide it to others. Help us to spend what we think we do not have because we are not the products of our own timidity, but we are powerful partners with You in the faith.
Help us to hold on to Your promises, grasping them more tightly than our own independence. We are not in control. You are in control. And we are made to be Your hands and feet. So send us out in love and kindness, and help us to reap the benefits of this from You. What richness we lack, may You grow within us, refreshing us with Your Spirit and Word. Never let us go, Jesus, but be our River of eternal life, flowing through us with glory and power and all that is You. Achieve through us what we cannot achieve on our own. And when we lack, help us to give so that we may be given more. You are impossible, Jesus, but do it anyway. Make us what You would have us to be, who You created us to be.
I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
