Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+046
 
Chapter 46 (ESV)

¹ Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
² They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.

³ “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
⁴ even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.

⁵ “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
⁶ Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.

⁸ “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
⁹ remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
3. Bel & Nebo were the names of two principal gods in Babylon. Do you notice the contrast between the idol’s burdens (verses 1-2) and the Lord (verses 3-4)?
4. What is your emotion as you read this passage, comparing the burdens of the idols and God as your father carrying you when you were weak? Or as a strong man sustaining you when you were tired? Or as a warrior rescuing you when you were trapped?
5. How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

You Are My All In All – youtu.be/zC617kE1maU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+045

 
Chapter 45 (ESV)

⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
⁶ that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.

⁸ “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.

⁹ “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
¹² I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
¹³ I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
3. How do you feel as you read Israel’s complaint, and then God’s reply? Do you feel free to complain to God or do you feel like it isn’t something you should or are allowed to do?
4. When have you complained to God? How did God reply? What are you complaining to God at present? What does God tell you to do?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Is He Worthy? – youtu.be/-c6pl6CaiD0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+044
 
Chapter 44 (ESV)

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?”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase?
3. What is an idol? “An idol is anything less than God that you expect to save you.” It is anything that takes the place of God on the throne of your life. If you have anything in your life that you say “if only this could happen…then everything would be perfect.” That thing, person, event, ideal, is your idol. With which idols are you struggling? How have you experienced that following these idols is nothing but “feeding on ashes” (v20)?
4. What does God tell you to do?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Give Us Clean Hands – youtu.be/Rv55qS7v2-c

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+043

 

Chapter 43 (ESV)

¹ But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵ Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
⁶ I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. On what base do you base your sense of self-worth? How do you feel about being the object of the loving statement in this passage?
4. What does it mean for you to be created by God and for His glory?
5. Allow the words of verse 2 to be a personal encouragement to you from the Lord as you go to Him in prayer.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Fear Not, For I Have Redeemed You – youtu.be/MN7CiQm7I5A

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+042

 
Chapter 42 (ESV)

¹ Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
² He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
³ a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴ He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.

⁵ Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
⁷ to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. This is the first of four Servant songs (that refer to Jesus as the servant) in Isaiah. This song has been quoted in part in Mt 12:18-21 with reference to Christ.
2. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
3. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
4. Does this passage give you a fresh understanding of the Lord Jesus and all that he went through? How do you feel when you picture Christ as a servant? In what way does this passage challenge you – your character, your service? How can you begin imitating Jesus’ servant attitude in your own life?
5. We often have a difficult time knowing how to handle situations where we are being taken advantage of. Jesus’ example is one of meekness and humility. Why is this a difficult example to follow? Why might it be important to do so?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

The Servant King – youtu.be/A0FSZ_iSYO8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+041

 
Chapter 41 (ESV)

⁸ But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
⁹ you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
¹⁰ fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹ Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
¹² You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
¹³ For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”

¹⁴ Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
¹⁶ you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Isaiah prophesied that the Israelites would be exiled to foreign lands far from their homeland. There were rumors of a new power rising in the East. And the people were in panic.
3. What are you afraid of right now? Afraid of what’s happening in the world? Terrorism? Economic Collapse? Nuclear proliferation? Your children? Your way of life?
4. With your fears in mind as you read this passage, what is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
5. Make your prayer to God based on these “do not fear…do not be afraid” phrases (verses 10, 13, 14). What would you say to the Lord? What does God want you to do?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Whom Shall I Fear – youtu.be/qOkImV2cJDg

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+040

 
The Second Book of Isaiah — Book of Deliverance

Chapter 40 (ESV)

²¹ Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
²³ who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

²⁴ Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

²⁵ To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

 

REFLECTION:

1. If the weather permits, find a quiet spot in a park or an outdoor location. Use your creative imagination to meet God today.
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. What “idols” (for instance, money, power or sex) do you use as a source of comfort for your fears? Confess your sin to God and ask Him to free you to obey His word for you today. Make your prayer to the Lord based on verses 28-31.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Everlasting God – youtu.be/yubLGTOcm8c

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+039
 

Chapter 39  (ESV)

¹ At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. ² And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ³ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” ⁴ He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ⁶ Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. ⁷ And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” ⁸ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Hezekiah listened to Isaiah’s words about God’s sovereignty, and trusted the Lord to remove the Assyrian threat. God did.  When he became sick, he recalled what God had said through Isaiah about the Lord’s willingness to restore the godly and Hezekiah called on God, pleading his godly life.  And the Lord did heal.
2. But Hezekiah slipped. Isaiah had spoken of Babylon as an enemy of God’s people (Isa. 13-14). Yet when envoys from Babylon came to “congratulate” the king on his recovery, Hezekiah showed them every one of his royal treasures.  Isaiah furiously announced that the day was coming when the Babylonians would carry Hezekiah’s treasures and his descendants into captivity.
3. We need to take all of God’s words to heart. We can’t pick and choose parts of God’s word to believe and claim the promises we want.  We need to pay close attention to every message of the Word, for forgetting or choosing not to hear God’s word can cause us trouble indeed.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Your Word I Have Hidden In My Heart – youtu.be/BID7tswLDNs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+038
 
Chapter 38 (ESV)

¹ In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

 

REFLECTION:

1. King Hezekiah is struggling with a fatal illness. The heartbroken king begged God for added years of life.  He appeals to God on the basis of his faithfulness and obedience (v3).  God answered his prayer and promised Hezekiah 15 added years.
2. From a glance reading of Hezekiah’s prayer, it seems very self-serving, but God still spared his life. Why do you think God let Hezekiah live an additional fifteen years?  How should this example affect the way you pray?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Sovereign Over Us – youtu.be/vw5osFG4WZk

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+037

 
Chapter 37 (ESV)

⁵ When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” …

¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ¹⁶ “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, ¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. ²⁰ So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. King Hezekiah went to the temple and prayed for God to intervene in the desperate situation facing his people. The Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem.  The king prayed, “You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth…. Deliver us.”
2. Picture what’s going on, and imagine what Hezekiah, the king of Judah, might be feeling in this situation. Notice how does Hezekiah react to the message his enemy sends him?  What stands out to you?  How do they relate to you?
3. Think about an area in which you hold responsibility, such as being a group leader, or a manager, or having responsibility to uphold your end of a friendship. What are some recent problems that you are responsible to help resolve?  In what ways are you dealing (or not dealing) with them?
4. Talk with God about what it’s like for you to have responsibility in this area; share your heart and mind with Him.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

No Other Name – youtu.be/Wku9OphQ7JE