Praying Isaiah 44

Release Date: July 23, 2018 (This week’s readings from Sunday to Saturday: Isaiah 44–50)

Isaiah 44 (ESV)

1 “But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. 5 This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”

6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. 8 Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses ​ neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol ​ ​ that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the ​ ​ 1

craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers ​ and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with ​ ​ planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and ​ ​ lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 ​ Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he ​ warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes ​ ​ into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and ​ their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or ​ ​ discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver ​ ​ himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. 22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

23 Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

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25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, 26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; 27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’; 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Adoration Adore God for the aspects of his personality and power revealed in Isaiah 44. Listen to the following truths, one-by-one, and in the space provided, praise God for each specific attribute.

Verse 6—God is eternal. He is the first and the last.

[Pray for 7 seconds.]

Verse 8—He is the only God, and our only Rock.

[Pray for 7 seconds.]

Verse 24—God made all things, stretching out the heavens and the earth by himself.

[Pray for 7 seconds.]

Verse 2—God himself formed each of us in the womb.

[Pray for 7 seconds.]

Verses 7 and 8—His word alone dictates the past and the future.

[Pray for 7 seconds.]

Verses 25 and 26—God himself defines and protects truth.

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[Pray for 7 seconds.]

God, you are the only true God … everything that exists has come from your hand. You alone are our help and the only Rock that we can truly rely upon. You are our Creator and Redeemer, and we count it a delight and privilege to be a part of your family and called by your name. You are worthy of our praise, for you have used your strength and might to set your people free and establish them. May we walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, for the sake of your name and your glory!1

Confession Isaiah 44, verses 9–20, provide us with a description of idolatry. Consider the care and detail that the idol maker has put into making false gods. Like the idol-maker in Isaiah 44, we too put great effort into creating and maintaining idols in our own hearts. Consider how you have harbored sin in your life and protected it as if it had power to give meaning to your life. In your own voice, confess to God that you are guilty of idolatry. Tell him that you, like Isaiah 44:9, have delighted in things that are nothing and do not profit.

[Pray for 15 seconds.]

Lift your voice and name, out loud, specific sins that you have held dear.

[Pray for 25 seconds.]

Declare to God that he is more powerful and more wonderful in your eyes than the sins that you have foolishly spent time on.

[Pray for 20 seconds.]

Thanksgiving Isaiah 44 gives us many reasons to express our thankfulness to God. In this chapter, God displays deep care for the exiled Israelites, even after they had sinned egregiously against God for centuries. We are like Israel. God has not treated us as our sins deserve, so let’s lift our voices in thanks and praise. Thank God with the words of Isaiah 44:22–24, that he is still our Redeemer, who blots out our transgressions like a cloud.

[Pray for 20 seconds.]

Thank God for pouring out his Spirit on us and our offspring (verse 3), for choosing us, blessing us, and calling us by name, the way he did with Israel centuries ago (verses 1–5).

1 See Eph 4:1, Col 1:10, and 1 Thess 2:12. 4

[Pray for 20 seconds.]

In Isaiah 44:26–28, God rebuilds Israel, gives them leadership, and restores their ruins and their fortunes. Every detail in these verses is even more true of you, as God blesses and redeems you through Jesus Christ. Take a few minutes now to thank God for the deep care and concern he has shown for you in the details of your life.

[Pray for 20 seconds.]

Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings. Thank you for not leaving us as slaves to sin and death. Thank you for remembering us and caring for the intimate details of our lives. Thank you for being our Rock and Redeemer, who knows the future and relates to all of our past pain. Thank you for how you worked through your Son to give us a bright hope for the future, and for your Spirit who has made a home among us now. Today and every day, we are grateful for the help that you alone provide and the firm foundation we have in Jesus Christ.

Supplication Now, ask that God would be glorified in your story the way he has been glorified by redeeming Israel (verse 23).

[Pray for 15 seconds.]

Ask that God would rebuild our cities through the work of his church. That as we share the gospel, there would be joy in our communities. As we interact with the broken-hearted and the downtrodden, that we would give them real hope through tangible displays of God’s love.

[Pray for 20 seconds.]

According to verses 25 and 26, God frustrates the efforts of liars and confirms the work of his messengers. These verses describe God’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem socially, as well as physically. Ask that God would confront the plans of the wicked in our cities, and that he would provide our communities with truth, wisdom, and good news.

[Pray for 15 seconds.]

In verses 27 and 28, God performs physical miracles in Israel and works through the most powerful man in their region. There are no limits to God’s ability to work on behalf of rebuilding his people. Ask that God would be active in our cities, doing miracles that only he can do in the hearts of our friends and neighbors.

[Pray for 15 seconds.]

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Benediction As we conclude our prayer time today, hear again the promises of God from Isaiah 44: “Fear not, Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen, for I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants … Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel you will not be forgotten by me … for I have redeemed you, and I will be glorified in you.”

Lord, give us strength and faith today to remember your character and the miracles you have performed. We are your servants. Allow our deeds be a reflection of the rebuilding and redeeming work that you have done on our behalf and that you are still doing all over the world. And may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts glorify you, our Rock and our Redeemer!2

AMEN.

Credits Praying the Bible is a copyrighted production of The Summit Institute, the equipping ministry of ​ the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. If you would like to learn more about The Summit Institute, visit us online at summitchurch.com/institute.

Produced by Jonathan Welch and Luke Brown Engineered by Luke Brown Written by Eric Stortz Narrated by Luke Brown Music by Luke Brown and Paul Seykora

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Ps 19:14. 6