Sermons

Prayer that Moves God to Act (Part One)
Isaiah 63:15-19

Years ago I did a study of all the prayers in the Bible.  I made a chart, with one column for the passage of Scripture, another for the person praying, a third column for how he or she prayed, and a fourth column for how God answered the prayer.  What I saw was astonishing.            

Not only did prayer impact the one praying – the one praying impacted God.  When men and women prayed God answered in powerful ways.

Hannah couldn’t get pregnant.  But she prayed that God would enable her to get pregnant – and God heard her prayer and she got pregnant and gave birth to Samuel (1Sam 1:20).

Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and God stopped the rain on the earth for three and a half years – then Elijah prayed again, and God caused rain to pour from the sky (Jam 5:16-17).

Peter was in jail facing beheading.  But a group of believers met in a home and asked God to free Peter from prison.  And God sent an angel who broke the chains from Peter and led him out of the jail as a free man (Acts 12).

The Bible teaches that God has chosen to have our prayers move Him to act.  But the Bible also shows what kind of prayer moves God to act.  In the Bible God doesn’t just tell us that people pray.  God also tells us how they prayed – so we can learn from them.

And that’s what we have in Isaiah 63 and 64.  Let’s turn there together.  If you need a Bible go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you.  Isaiah 63 is on page 622 in the Bibles we are passing out.

In Isaiah 63:15 through 64:12 Isaiah shows Israel how to pray.  This morning we will take just verses 15-19 – and then Lord willing next week we’ll do part two of how Isaiah prays by studying chapter 64.

So what can we learn from how Isaiah prayed?  Now before we look at these verses, think about how you pray.  What is your usual pattern of prayer?  What words do you use?  Where do you start, how do you continue, how do you end? 

Now compare how you pray with how Isaiah prays.  Isaiah wants to ask God to change Israel’s hearts so they once again love, worship, and obey God.  So look at how Isaiah prays about that in vv.15-19 --

15            Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.

16            For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

17            O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.

18            Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.

19            We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

Is that how you usually pray?  I think we have a lot that we can learn from how Isaiah prays.  As I studied these verses I found four principles that would make our prayer like that of Isaiah --

First, ask the infinitely exalted God to look down and see your need.  That’s the first line of v.15 – look at it again --

15            Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation.

Isaiah asks God to look down and see the neediness of the people of Israel.  Does God already see their neediness?  Yes.  God sees everything past, present and future.

But this Hebrew word can mean both seeing so you are aware of something – and seeing so you deeply care about something.  So what Isaiah is asking is for God to see and deeply care about Israel’s spiritual condition.

So – have you ever asked God to look down from heaven and see and deeply care about your need?  What difference would it make if you started out praying with --

Father, look down from the majesty of heaven, your holy and beautiful habitation, and see our checking account balance. 

Father, look down from heaven, your holy and beautiful habitation, and see how people on my street don’t know Jesus. 

Father, look down from heaven, your holy and beautiful habitation, and see that I don’t have a job. 

Father, look down from heaven, your holy and beautiful habitation, and see how much I’m struggling with gossip.

So what’s the benefit of praying like that?

One is that we see God’s infinite splendor.  It’s good for us to stop and ponder that God is in heaven, in his holy and beautiful habitation – a realm of perfect love and light, full of joy in the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with millions of angels at His command, ruling the billions of galaxies of the universe.  Prayer that sees God’s infinite splendor moves God to act.

And when we see God’s infinite splendor we also see our lowliness.  For God to see us He has to look down.  Way, way, way down.  Down, down, down, down.  Further and further down – oh, there I am.  There you are.  It’s good for us to see that we are infinitely lowly compared to God – because that will make us humble before God.  Prayer that sees our lowliness moves God to act.

Another benefit is that we see our need for Jesus.  Think about it.  We have turned our backs against God time after time.  So why would God see and care about our needs?  What we deserve is His punishment.

But here’s the good news.  God came to earth in the person of Jesus.  And Jesus was punished on the Cross in our place for our sin.  So because we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior and all-satisfying Treasure we are completely forgiven, and God looks down from heaven and sees us and cares about our need.  Prayer that humbly trusts in Jesus moves God to act.

So think of what this means.  When you pray trusting Jesus, seeing your lowliness, seeing God’s infinite splendor -- the infinite, all-powerful Creator of the universe looks down from heaven and sees and cares about your checkbook, your unemployment, your struggle with sin.

Then second, seek to persuade God with powerful reasons.  That’s what’s going on in the second half of 15 and on into v.16 --  

15b          Where are your zeal and your might?  The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.

16            For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Here Isaiah is giving God powerful reasons for why God should turn Israel back to Himself.  He starts with v.15b – you are holding back your zeal and might and compassion from us.  But, v.16, you are our Father and Redeemer.  Fathers and Redeemers don’t hold back their zeal, might, and compassion – so why are you?

Isaiah seeks to persuade God with powerful reasons.  But I’ll bet that when we pray most of us just ask God.  We just ask – save my daughter, free me from pride, provide me a job, save people in my neighborhood.

Now there’s nothing wrong with asking.  But Isaiah doesn’t just ask -- Isaiah gives God powerful reasons for why God should answer.  Isaiah seeks to persuade God with powerful reasons.

This is what you find in almost every prayer recorded in the Bible.

In Numbers 14 after Israel had sinned against God in the wilderness, and God said He would destroy them, Moses says – don’t destroy them, because if you do the nations will think you weren’t able to bring them into the Promised Land!  (That’s a powerful reason!)

In 2 Kings 19 Israel is being attacked by the Moabites, so Jehoshaphat gathers all of Israel together and he asks God to destroy the attacking Moabites, because You are God, no one can withstand You, and You promised to give this land to Your people. (That’s a powerful reason!)

In Daniel 9 Daniel asks God to free Israel from Babylon and take them back to Jerusalem, because restoring us would glorify your name!  (That’s a powerful reason!)

So why it is important to persuade God with powerful reasons?  Isaiah could have just prayed – “God, bring Israel back to yourself.”  But instead he prays – “God, bring Israel back to yourself, because you are our Father and Fathers don’t hold back their hearts from their children.”

Why give God reasons?  It’s because God has not just chosen to have our prayers move Him to act, God has chosen to have our persuasive reasons especially move Him to act.

This hit me powerfully on Thursday.  I’ve seen before that biblical pray-ers give God reasons, but I’ve never clearly understood that the more reasons I give and the better reasons I give, the more God will be moved to act.  I’d never seen how important reasons are.  But God has chosen to have our persuasive reasons especially move Him to act.

So Thursday I walked out to the creek near my house and prayed for the salvation of someone in my extended family.  I asked God to save this person.  And then I started listing off reasons to persuade God to do this.  And it was one of the more powerful times of prayer I have had recently.

So learn from Isaiah, and seek to persuade God with powerful reasons.

Third, express God’s absolute sovereignty and your utter dependency.  Look at v.17 –

17            O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.

You could think Isaiah is saying that we don’t want to wander from God, but God makes us wander from Him.  But the Bible teaches that we have sinful natures which want to wander from God – which make our hearts hard towards God.  And unless God through Jesus brings His grace upon us – we will continue to wander from His ways and harden our hearts.

So what is Isaiah saying?  He is saying that even though God had pursued Israel and sent prophets to call Israel back to Himself, Israel continued to turn her back on God. So -- God totally withdrew His grace, and as a result Israel totally turned from God and hardened her heart towards God. 

So now Isaiah prays – God why are you letting us wander from you and harden our hearts?  Return to us.  Change our hearts.  Bring us back to you.

Here’s the point.  When you are talking to God you are talking to the one who is in sovereign control over everything – and you are the one who is completely, absolutely dependent on Him.  That is the truth.  And when our hearts are in sync with this truth, when we pray with hearts that acknowledge God’s absolute sovereignty and our own utter dependency, that moves God’s heart to act.

So it’s powerful to pray – Father, it’s all up to You -- unless you save my neighbor, they won’t be saved.  Father, it’s all up to You – unless you provide us with money, we won’t have money.  Father, it’s all up to You – unless you strengthen my faith, I’ll stay weak.

When you pray, acknowledge God’s absolute sovereignty and your own utter dependency.  It’s true, so it pleases God, and stirs Him to act.

Fourth, give God details about your need.  In vv.18-19 Isaiah goes into more detail about how desperate Israel’s condition is –

18            Your holy people held possession [of the Promised Land] for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.

19            We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

Doesn’t God already know all this?  Of course.  So why does Isaiah tell God what God already knows?  It’s because this is another way of giving God persuasive reasons which will stir Him to act.

Imagine your son coming to you and saying – “Would you take me to a 49ers game?  You know all the reasons – would you take me?”

How persuasive would that be compared to your son saying – “Would you take me to a 49ers game?  I love going to football games, and I have not been to a game this year.  And the 49ers are doing really well, and I want to support them.  And they are playing the Redskins, so it’s a really important game.  And I checked and you are not travelling next Sunday, and I’m free too.” 

Can you feel how much more persuasive that is?

Remember when the Assyrian King sent Hezekiah a letter explaining how he was going to attack and destroy Israel.  Remember what Hezekiah did?  He went to the temple and unrolled the letter before God and said – look at this.  Did God already know the contents of the letter?  Of course.  But for Hezekiah to unroll it and read it before God moved God to act.

So tell God all about your employment situation – and ask Him to work.  Tell God all about the spiritual condition of your children – and ask Him to work.  Tell God all about that friendship which has gone sour – and ask Him to restore it.  Tell God all about your heart-struggles and temptations – and ask Him to work.

Isaiah gave God details about his need.

So what happened?  Israel was being trampled down by her enemies, and Israel’s heart was hard and wandering from God.  But Isaiah prayed –

He asked the infinitely exalted God to see his need.

He sought to persuade God with powerful reasons.

He expressed God’s absolute sovereignty and his utter dependency.

He gives God details about his need.

And what happened?  Read the book of Ezra.  God saw.  God cared.  God acted.  And so in 538 BC God stirred the heart of Cyrus to free Israel from their exile and slavery, and he sent them back to Israel with gold and silver and building materials so they could rebuild.  And God brought His heart-changing grace upon Israel and she returned not just to Israel, but to God.