Do Nothing

“Oh Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray to the LORD day and night for the fulfillment of his promises.  Take no rest, all you who pray.” Isaiah 62:6

Stepping into the purposeful place of prayer is never easy.  Listening for the still, quiet voice of the Spirit seems impossible.  Obeying in a radical way makes you look like a fanatic.  So why be still, sit quietly, wait on the Lord, and do ….nothing? 

Because when we step forward in the journey of waiting prayer…that is when the mountains begin to move.  And it’s much, much more than nothing…

God isn’t asking us to give him our everything this second.  He knows that would fail.  He’s asking us to trust him as he begins the process of bringing us to a place of total surrender.  I don’t expect that we will have a clear path today.  What I do trust, is a God who answers the consistent, faithful, persistent call of his bride who is beginning to desire him.  Listen to how I read sections of Isaiah this morning as a conversation with the Lord.

God – “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow.  Oh, that you had listened to my commands!  Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves.”   Isaiah 48:17-18

Isaiah – “But my work all seem so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all.  Yet, I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”  Isaiah 49:4

God – “At just the right time, I will respond to you.  On the day of salvation, I will help you.”  Isaiah: 49:8

People – “The LORD has deserted us; the LORD has forgotten us.”  Isaiah 49:14

God – “Never!  Can a mother forget her nursing child?  Can she feel no love for a child she has borne?  But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!  See, I have written your name on my hand…”  Isaiah 49:15-16b

God – “Those who wait for me will never be put to shame.”  Isaiah 49: 23b

Isaiah – “The sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones.  Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.  The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened.”  Isaiah 50:4-5a

Isaiah – “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be dismayed.  Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.  And I know that I will triumph.”  Isaiah 50:7

Notice how the determination and confidence settled onto Isaiah after he waited, listened, and obeyed.   God assured the people of his love and that he had a plan and a purpose for them.  All they had to do was wait and listen.

That’s why we wait.  Make this a time of deep, quiet affection between you and God.  Open your hands and your heart to the possibility that he has a purpose for you and your church, and it might be different than you think.

We’ll never know if we’re not listening.

 

- Doug Bishop