GOD-FOCUSED PRAYER
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, teach me through your Word today. Strengthen me in the truth of who you are.
Read ISAIAH 33
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Distress and Help
33 Woe to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2 Lord, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.
3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;
when you rise up, the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a]
7 Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers are on the roads.
The treaty is broken,
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up and wastes away,
Lebanon is ashamed and withers;
Sharon is like the Arabah,
and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive chaff,
you give birth to straw;
your breath is a fire that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;
like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously
and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail them.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
and view a land that stretches afar.
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19 You will see those arrogant people no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
20 Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
- Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.’1
Think Further
This chapter sounds more like a psalm than prophecy. It was probably used by Judah in worship, like singing a hymn in church today. The challenge is to put your finger on exactly what kind of psalm it might be: thanksgiving, lament, imprecatory (calling for judgment), or devotion. In fact, Isaiah mixes all those elements into a kaleidoscopic psalm, which was triggered by the severe time of trial we’ve been reading about in previous chapters. The ‘destroyer’ (v. 1) was either Assyria or their king, Sennacherib.
Isaiah’s focus, however, is not the problem, it’s the solution (note the many ways he describes the Lord in this chapter) and there are two main themes that emerge. First, the Lord will bring justice (v. 5). It’s distressing to look at the news today; there are so many examples of evil and brutality. Oddly, I am encouraged by the thought that it’s not new to God. He judged and punished the Assyrians, and he will bring justice to the national perpetrators of our day. Second, the Lord is our Mighty One (v. 21). The awful news today also makes me feel powerless; how can my little prayers stand a chance against the overwhelming evil in the world? I remind myself, however, that prayer makes a difference because the One I’m talking to is God Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. I am weak, but he is strong; that’s my only hope.
I’m learning the power of God-focused prayer for my personal problems as well. Instead of praying, ‘Lord, please make this happen… ,’ I’m increasingly praying, ‘Lord, you are able to do all things, so I’m watching and waiting for how you’ll intervene here.’ The real value of life’s struggles is that they can deepen our experience of God. That’s the power of God-focused prayer.
Apply
What personal problem keeps you awake at night? Spend a few moments in God-focused prayer about it: ‘Lord, I’m looking for what you’re doing… .’
Closing prayer
Lord God, there is no one like you—there is no one who can compare to you. Thank you that you offer all of who you are to me.
1 Isa 33:2
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