The whole picture was important when I was reading part of the Bible. Today, I am looking at some verses from the book of Isaiah. After the prophet Isaiah heard the call from the Lord, he had probably not realised what the work involved, but very soon God promises that a child will be born who will be the Messiah. There is a point when God becomes angry as it seems that however hard Isaiah tries to keep the people on the way of God, they go their own way. The whole picture for me is that God is never away from the people and he sees everything that happens. As I get to the chapter that gives us hope, the Lord says, “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”. Thinking God couldn’t see them, the people of Jerusalem tried to hide their plans from Him. How strange that so many people think they can hide from God. They turn everything upside down.
PRAYERS FOR THE WEEK BASED ON ISAIAH 35
Father God,We come close to you today as we ask forgiveness for the times when we have strayed and, as it was in Isaiah’s time, we have only given you lip promise and not given our dedication from our hearts. We have made decisions to walk your path and instead taken an easier way of life. In the passage titled WAY OF HOLINESS, you open the scroll to promise us what would be changed if, as one of the hymns we sing says, you are ‘turning the world upside down’.
Our prayers for this week are about the disasters that we see in the world today.
Loving God,
We see the people in Beirut on our televisions. People who are distraught about the way the explosion has left them. Lord, their world has been turned upside down and they are crying out for help and we are crying out to you for them. It is strange that one of the changes for the better in the world in Isaiah was connected to the Lebanon Mountains. Lord we pray that the world will come to the aid of the Beirut disaster.
Creator God,
We continue with our prayers for the way the world has been turned upside down by the Coronovirus. When we say the prayer of Jesus, the words ‘deliver us from evil’ seem a part of the wonderful prayer to be specially meant at times like this. Help us to continue keeping to the law until the virus is beaten and your wonderful peace comes with hope and healing through all the world.
Compassionate Lord.
We bring to you the problem of men, women and children crossing from France to our country on rubber boats. Arriving with great needs which we cannot always meet and causing an ongoing problem for the government.
Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers. In the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour. Amen