What Can We Do?

Daily Reading: Isaiah 62

Scripture Focus. 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, and give him no rest...  (Isaiah 62.6-7)

Devotional Thought: "In this time of desperation when all we know is doubt and fear, there is only one foundation...  In this broken generation when all is dark, You help us see there is only one salvation. We believe."  (We Believe: Fike, Hooper, Ryan)

In recent days, I have found myself singing that song often.  With COVID19, social unrest, and cultural redefinition, I feel like this generation is broken and dark.  But, that's not where Christians "live."  We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5.7).  We believe!  Yet, I must confess that the days are desperate and times are dark.  I ask myself, "What can I do?  In light of what I believe, what can I do?"

Isaiah lived in dark and desperate times.  Morale and morality were both in decline.  The nation itself was threatened with extinction.  God had a solution for that day, and he has one for today.  In dark and desperate times, what can we do?  We can pray!

With this in mind, consider what God said to Isaiah...

·       God has set watchmen.  Prayer is God's plan for our problem.  We must not say, "I've done all I know to do.  There's nothing left but to pray."  Instead, let's make prayer our first response to the darkness.

·       Never be silent.  Jesus told a parable to teach us importunity (wearisome persistence) in prayer.  Paul admonished us to pray without ceasing.  Don't give up!  Give God no rest.

·       Put the Lord in remembrance.  Has God forgotten our situation?  Of course not.  But, there is power in accumulated prayer.  Prayers are stored up in heaven to be poured out when human need and divine will align.

What can we do?  We can pray!

Prayer: Forgive me, Lord, when in the midst of darkness and desperation I forget the most powerful force for good - the most viable option for change - at my disposal: prayer!  May your kingdom come and your will be done.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm. 94.1-7

1 O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!

2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!

3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.

5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.

6 They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;

7 and they say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive."