A Prayer for God’s Power
“If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence, as fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil, to make Your name known to Your enemies, so that nations will tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. (The exact phrase for “filthy rags” in Hebrew refers to a stained menstrual garment.)
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand. Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people! Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins. After all this, O LORD, will You restrain Yourself? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
It seems that by the time these words are written, the Assyrians have already ransacked Jerusalem, leaving the temple in ruins. But we know that Isaiah was slaughtered at the command of wicked King Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son. So these verses are prophetic, indicating the destruction that will eventually overtake Jerusalem and Judah. Righteous Isaiah anticipates the horrors the Assyrians will bring and is pleading with God to mitigate His punishments. Isaiah is too much of a realist to ignore the sins in which his people have persisted; however, he is also pleading with God to deliver his people in spite of those sins.
This short chapter contains two of the most vivid images in the Bible. “Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” No matter how good we try to be, all of our efforts fall short of God’s holiness and His righteousness. Even when we are trying as hard as possible to be good, our motives are still mixed and our hearts are not pure. The “filthy rags” referred to are likely the rags women have been using to absorb menstrual blood. Women in their menses are considered unclean and must undergo ritual purification before they are considered clean again. It’s likely that these rags would be burned to avoid contaminating anyone else.
The second powerful image is that of the potter and the clay. Potters begin with large lumps of clay and then gradually shape that clay into useful articles. There is nothing attractive or inspiring about an unformed lump of clay; only the mind of a master potter knows what he or she can make out of it. No matter how carefully we plan our lives, we can never really know God’s perfect will for us unless we ask and give Him permission to work that will in our lives. But if we give God permission, He can make something magnificent out of us.
APPLICATION: As I am writing this, the revival at Asbury University is continuing into its eleventh day and shows no signs of stopping or diminishing. Testimonies coming from Asbury indicate that it is the Holy Spirit who is controlling things and not anybody else. Famous Christian musicians and preachers who have offered their services have been politely invited to come but not to perform. When a national news group wanted to do a feature program, the University wisely declined. One of the most revealing aspects of this movement is spontaneous conviction of sin coupled with prayers of repentance and restoration. There have been emotional, physical, and spiritual healings. People are streaming in from around the world as well as around America, and the seating has expanded to four buildings to accommodate all the participants. Some people have testified that the presence of the Holy Spirit is so strong that they begin weeping spontaneously as they approach the buildings. Only God will know the final outcomes that this move of the Holy Spirit will have. For all those at Asbury, the Master Potter is working and remolding them into something beautiful.
Revival is now spreading from Asbury to other college campuses as well. What is happening to these people? Isaiah 61:1-3 tells us: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”
God is sovereignly moving, and when God moves, He brings freedom and release, healing and comfort, beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. John 1:4-5 tells us, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
There’s a song by the Gold City Quartet that sums up what God wants to do in each of our lives.
I Have Seen the Light
- … I was a seeker alone in a dark world,
I looked for truth but settled for lies.
I had been blinded, I couldn’t see
Till a Star in Bethlehem’s sky opened my eyes.
… I have seen the Light shining in the darkness,
Bursting through the shadows, delivering the dawn.
I have seen the Light whose holy name is Jesus,
His kingdom is forever; He reigns on Heaven’s throne!
- … There in a manger, an innocent baby;
Who would believe that He was the One;
I can believe it, I know it’s true;
He changed my life; He is the light; He is God’s Son!
… I have seen the Light shining in the darkness,
Bursting through the shadows, delivering the dawn.
I have seen the Light whose holy name is Jesus,
His kingdom is forever; He reigns on Heaven’s throne!
- … We must tell the world what we’ve seen today in Bethlehem!
He’s the promised King; we bow down and worship Him!
We will Worship Christ The King!
… I have seen the Light shining in the darkness,
Bursting through the shadows, delivering the dawn.
I have seen the Light whose holy name is Jesus,
His kingdom is forever; He reigns on Heaven’s throne!
… I have seen the light of Jesus, I have seen the light of the Lord
I have seen the light of Jesus, I have seen the light
I have seen the light of the Lord.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. LORD, SHINE YOUR LIGHT INTO THE HEARTS OF ALL WHO READ THESE WORDS! SEND REVIVAL ON EVERY ONE OF THEM, ON THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR FRIENDS, THEIR TRIBES, THEIR PROFESSIONS THROUHOUT THE WORLD! LORD, PLEASE SEND REVIVAL! In the mighty Name of King Jesus, Your Word made flesh. Amen.
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