Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+063

 
Chapter 63 (ESV)

⁷ I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

¹⁰ But they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
¹¹ Then he remembered the days of old,
of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
¹² who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
¹³ who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
¹⁴ Like livestock that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Isaiah emphasizes the faithfulness of God against Israel’s unfaithfulness. Even though people cannot attain righteousness on their own, God makes it available to them through the work of His Servant.
3. 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?
4. What is the “exodus event” (v.11-14) that you fondly recall in your life when it was clear that God was working in you? How do you feel now when times of spiritual emptiness occur? Will you recall the past to get encouragement?
5. Talk with God about your present struggles and listen to His response.

 

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 Steadfast Love Of The Lord Never Ceases – youtu.be/fBX_YvQ8BKE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+062

 
Chapter 62 (ESV)

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

⁶ On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
take no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. When you read the second time, reverse all the “you” to “I and me”.
3. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? Tell God how it makes you feel to know that He delights in you and is happy with you.
4. Rest in the truth that God delights in you. If you wish, imagine situations when you feel anything but special (i.e., when you are hard on yourself, when someone puts you down, or when you get back a test, or work review that isn’t so great). See yourself responding to the situation by saying, “Yes, this is true, but God delights in me.”

 

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:

God Delights In You – youtu.be/gw2RafIuRdw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+061

 
Chapter 61 (ESV)

¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What words or phrases stand out to you? How do you feel about being called a priest (v6)? What would it mean for you to live like a priest this week? Do you serve with “delight in the Lord” or with joy in results or feelings of success? What’s the difference?
3. Ask God for guidance in how you serve. As you serve someone today, be present to the reality that you are doing this with God’s hand, under His power. This is His work and you get to be a part of it!

 

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:

Heart of a Servant – youtu.be/zvTbXbaQZ94

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+060

 

Chapter 60 (ESV)

¹⁷ Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
¹⁸ Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.

¹⁹ The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
²⁰ Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
²¹ Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
²² The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
in its time I will hasten it.

 

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. This is a glorious promise that the captives, though in exile, will return and rebuild Jerusalem. Nations will bring gifts, Jerusalem will be prosperous and full of glory. We, too, look forward to a time when “the Lord will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end” (vv19-20).
4. What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase regarding your glorious future? 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:

Look To The Son – youtu.be/-oLeXo3n2Lc

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+059

 
Chapter 59 (ESV)

⁹ Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
¹¹ We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
¹³ transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

¹⁴ Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵ Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. As you read the passage aloud, replace “we” with “I”, and “our” with “my”. What might God be thinking as He hears you read this?
3. 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?
4. Now, make a list of sins – big and small – that you’ve committed in the past week. In prayer, go through your list item by item, admit to God that you should not have participated in such wrongdoing. Do this with a humble and repentant heart. Ask God to help you not to focus any longer on your sin, but to be free to focus and turn toward Him.
5. As you go through today, make a point to confess your sins to God. As you do this, be as specific as you can about your sins, acknowledging your desperation and futility in attempting to live apart from 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:

Lord, to You I Make Confession – youtu.be/UWKILhyFR6Y

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+058

 
Chapter 58 (ESV)

³ ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
⁴ Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
⁵ Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶ “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.

 

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. Have you ever fasted? Why or why not? What benefits did you experience?
4. Fasting or any one of the religious activities that we’re “supposed” to do, do us no good when we engage in it for the wrong reasons and with the wrong attitude. In which religious activities do you find yourself just going through the motions: Attending church? Reading the Bible? Prayer? Communion service? Fasting? How are these activities affecting you now? What attitudes are needed for these activities to be “acceptable to the Lord”?

 

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:

Renew My Heart – www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PD2_i4cP8k

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+057

 
Chapter 57 (ESV)

¹⁴ And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”
¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹  creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.
²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹ There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 

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. How do you feel of this God who is both far off and dwells on high, yet keeps company with the humble, the contrite, and the poor in spirit?
4. Do you know someone who is sad and depressed? Decide a way that you can show God’s love to this special person and make plans to carry it out.

 

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 Love Of God – youtu.be/oWnvmKoLWUU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+056

 
Chapter 56 (ESV)

¹ Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
² Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

³ Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
⁴ For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
⁵ I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.

⁶ “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”

 

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. In this passage, God is extending an inclusive policy to all people to enter into the temple if they keep Sabbath and keep God’s covenant (verses 4, 6).
4. Have you ever felt an outsider or been excluded from joining some group? How does this passage apply to you today?
5. “A house of prayer for all nations” (v7). God’s intention—whether through the people of Israel in the past or through the Church today—has always been to draw all nations to worship Him. In your understanding, does God’s kingdom include all peoples? How do you pursue becoming part of this faith community of “all nations”?
6. Confession and repentance are proper attitudes for prayer, but so is joy, as this verse reminds us. Joy is also one of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22). Try to begin or end with a praise song to help bring joy to your prayer/devotion time.

 

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:

How Can I Keep From Singing – youtu.be/vh_8rTBpvRU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+055

 
Chapter 55 (ESV)

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

 

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. In light of verses 6-7, have you been seeking the Lord or hiding from Him this week? Why? What is God speaking to you about this?
4. Think of the most impressive range of mountains you have ever seen, the Rockies, or some other mountains. How would you feel as you realized that the mountains were singing for joy over what God has done in and for you (v12)? What does that imply about your importance to God?

 

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:

Draw Me Close – youtu.be/7d_oYr-P16M

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+054

 
Chapter 54 (ESV)

⁴ “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶ For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
⁷ For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸ In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹ “This is like the days of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
¹⁰ For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

 

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. When you hear God saying that He turned His back in anger only for a moment but was not giving up on the relationship (esp. verses 7-8), what is your emotion? If this reminds you of someone in your life (past or present) that had made similar promises to you but reneged later, talk with God about it.
4. Read v10 as if God’s speaking to you right now. Spend a few minutes sitting quietly in His presence, enjoying the tranquility of that space before you move on to the rest of your day.

 

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 Power Of Your Love – youtu.be/H9_0jiO5ZRM