READING: Isaiah 59-63
“Your sins have made Him hide His face from you.”
Isaiah 59:2
God longs to communicate with His people, evidenced by His speaking to us through the centuries (Heb. 1:1-4) and His calling for us to pray (e.g., Luke 11:1-13, 1 Thess. 5:17). He has made His power known through creation (Psa. 19:1-6). He has sent prophets and raised up kings to warn and judge His people. He spoke most gloriously to us by sending His Son, Jesus, and now He speaks to us via His Spirit and His Word. His calls to us to pray in turn are not only commands to obey, but invitations to speak to the God of eternity.
That is not to say, however, that God always chooses to hear our prayers. Indeed, the prophet Isaiah is clear that our sin gets in the way of our praying. The problem is not that God is not powerful enough to take care of us, nor is it that He somehow cannot hear us. Rather, it is that our continual wrong choices erect a barrier between us and God; in Isaiah’s words, “But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen” (Isa. 59:2).
The words are strong. I choose to live in rebellion, and God chooses to turn His face from me. What is surely a metaphorical picture of God’s unwillingness to listen to my prayers is nevertheless painful and convicting. Despite my own struggles with sin, I cannot imagine any sin that offers me so much that it’s worth God’s turning away from me.
ACTION STEPS:
- All day long, ask God to show you any sin and sin patterns that hinder your communication with Him.
- Thank God that He brought us salvation when no one else could do so.
PRAYER: “God, forgive me for my wrong. In the power of Your Spirit, grant me victory that honors You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Isaiah 64-66